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(Beijing--7 December 2012) In the lead up to World AIDS Day 2012, China's civil society community was abuzz over a meeting that Vice Premier, Li Keqiang called with grass-roots organizations actively working to support people affected by HIV-AIDS.

UNICEF Representative Gillian Mellsop greets Vice Premier Li Keqiang at the start of a meeting with civil society groups and advocates working on HIV-AIDS.

According to a South China Morning Post article, an HIV-AIDS activist from Hebei said he was surprised when he was asked to join the meeting and was impressed by Li's pragmatism and saw new hope in his messages.

"We have been working with people with HIV-AIDS for so many years and for the first time we've felt like we're finally being rewarded somehow," he said.

UNICEF Representative Gillian Mellsop was the only representative of an international organization invited to attend the meeting, chaired by Li. UNICEF has been supporting China's efforts to strengthen the role of community based organizations in providing better treatment, care and support for children and families affected by HIV-AIDS since 1996.

Following the meeting Ms. Mellsop, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that there has been tremendous progress in the last 20 years in how the government and people have been supporting those affected by HIV/AIDS, their families and children, and in raising awareness about prevention.

In particular, Ms. Mellsop said she was pleased to see the programmes targeting prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, in which UNICEF is "very much engaged."

"China is moving toward complete elimination of transmission of HIV between mother and child, but there are still challenges ahead," she said.

UNICEF programmes have helped to empower women's self-help groups to provide a support systems which link affected families with critical health services. These self-help groups have played an important role in improving anti-retroviral drug adherence in prevention of mother to child transmission.

"It was a real pleasure to meet with Li and to have the opportunity to participate in his discussions with civil society groups," Mellsop said. “It was heartening to see an open discussion between civil society groups representing the needs and calls for attention to programming around HIV/AIDS."

Li Keqiang talking with an HIV-AIDS advocate at a meeting he recently chaired in the role of civil society groups in China's fight against HIV-AIDS.

While significant progress has been made in the fight against AIDS in recent years, people living with HIV-AIDS still face entrenched stigma and discrimination. Many face difficulties in receiving treatment and care.

“No matter how much progress is made in preventing the spread of HIV or in providing care and support for people affected by HIV-AIDS,” said Ms. Mellsop. “If China does not make progress in fighting the stigma attached to this virus overall efforts to fight AIDS will be slowed.”

“We have seen time and again, all around the world, that civil society plays an absolutely critical role in changing attitudes and behaviours to make it possible to attain an AIDS free generation.”

UNICEF was the first international organization to jointly conduct anti-AIDS programmes with the Government of China. In 2001 UNICEF supported China's first pilot programmes on preventing transmission of HIV from pregnant mothers to their babies.

(Reports published by Xinhuanet and the online version of the South China Morning Post were used to compile this article)