BlueCity pledges donation towards HIV prevention ahead of World AIDS Day, following brand’s pioneering work in the field
Funds will support relevant non-profit organizations in community outreach and overall development, with a focus on young people
BEIJING, Nov. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueCity, a world-leading LGBTQ community platform providing a full suite of services to foster connections and enhance the well-being of the LGBTQ community, has pledged to donate one million yuan (nearly 152,300 USD) to further carry out HIV-prevention education and control in the lead-up to World AIDS Day.
Supporting non-profits in HIV awareness and prevention
The funds will be used to support the HIV prevention work of prospective non-profit organizations in their community outreach and capacity building. The brand will also actively seek applications and provide grants for programs focusing on HIV prevention among young people, according to Baoli Ma, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of BlueCity.
“2020 is an exceptional year that requires us to give each other stronger support. As such, we launched the initiative to partner with and support like-minded people and organizations in delivering HIV prevention and awareness-building that is comprehensive, scientific and efficient,” said Ma at “AIDS-free Generation,” an annual event co-organized by the Chinese Foundation for the Prevention of STD and AIDS (CFPSA) and Danlan Public Interest Fund.
“We will also bring our services to more overseas users and work together with international and regional partners as the world is working together to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030,” said Ma, referring to the .
A 2019 report from China’s National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention reported 16,000 newly discovered cases of HIV/AIDS in 2018 among young people aged 15-24. Among them, more than 3,000 cases were young students.
Pioneering and facilitating HIV prevention and testing in China and beyond
Since the founding of Danlan Public Interest in 2008, BlueCity has pioneered the concept of “Internet + HIV prevention” in China, which essentially integrates online and offline HIV prevention efforts. Empowered by the technologies and large user base of its platform, this concept was further expanded with the launch of the Blued app in 2012.
In cooperation with community partners throughout China, Danlan Public Interest, the corporate social responsibility arm of BlueCity focused on HIV prevention, has amassed a network comprising nearly 7,000 testing locations across the country, which users can search for on Blued, BlueCity’s mobile app. Users can even make appointments directly with 224 testing centers in 32 Chinese cities, providing them with discrete, stress-free services during times of concern for their health.
Danlan Public Interest has also established four HIV testing centers in collaboration with centers for disease control and prevention in Beijing, which offered some 16,376 free HIV tests during 2018 and 2019.
In addition, HIV-prevention related content on Blued, consisting of messaging on the app’s splash screen, direct messages and live-streaming, had an accumulated audience of 325 million as of June 2020.
Partnered with CFPSA, BlueCity also established and provided the initial funding used by Danlan Public Interest Fund in August 2019 to strengthen HIV prevention efforts among China’s youth. This is the first such fund under CFPSA, and a promising milestone for BlueCity’s overall corporate social responsibility efforts.
With more than half of Blued’s 6.4 million monthly active users hailing from markets outside China, the brand has also worked with local governments or health institutions in markets including Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam to facilitate HIV testing, prevention and education.
In addition to sharing “Internet + HIV prevention” best practices and experience at both the 2016 and 2020 International AIDS Conference, BlueCity has also worked with a wide range of governmental, academia and corporate partners to conduct HIV-related research and studies. Since 2016, the brand has co-published 17 research papers in renowned academic journals, including Lancet Infectious Disease.
About BlueCity
BlueCity (Nasdaq: BLCT) is a world-leading online LGBTQ platform providing a full suite of services to foster connections and enhance the well-being of the LGBTQ community. Mobile app Blued is the platform’s central hub, allowing users to conveniently and safely connect with each other, express themselves and access professional health-related and family planning consulting services. Blued has connected 54 million registered users worldwide, and is now the largest online LGBTQ community in China, India, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
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