简介：China'sFreeARTProgramwasinitiatedin2002asanemergencyresponsetosaveandimprovethelivesofAIDSpatientslivingmainlyinimpoverishedruralregionsofcentralChina.WithlittleexperienceinHIV/AIDStreatmentandcareandresourcelimitations,China'seffortstoprovidewidespreadaccesstofreeantiretroviraltherapyhasbeenaprocessfraughtwithdifficulty.However,theFreeARTProgramisprogressingfromanemergencyresponsetoastandardizedtreatmentandcaresystem.Thedevelopmentofnationalguidelines,trainingprograms,alaboratorysupportnetwork,anationalpatientdatabase,programsforspecialpopulationssuchaschildrenandpatientslivingwithcoinfections,andoperationalresearchhasimprovedthescopeandqualityofthefreetreatmentprogram.AsofJune30,2005,atotalof19,456patientsin28provinces,autonomousregions,andspecialmunicipalitieshadreceivedfreeART.ChallengesstemmingfromthenatureofChina'shealthsystemandpatientpopulationpersist,butwithstronggovernmentsupportandadiversesetofresources,Chinahasthecapacitytoovercomethesechallengesandtoprovidenationwideaccesstohighqualitytreatmentandcare.