Pubdate: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun; with files from Associated Press ADVOCATES FOR ADDICTS RECEIVE RIGHTS AWARD City Group Works To Combat HIV, Hepatitis C A Vancouver group that advocates for illegal-drug users has received a national human-rights award. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch, which is giving a Canadian award for the first time, said that the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users is receiving the award for its "ground-breaking efforts to halt an explosion of HIV and hepatitis C" and its "unparallelled success at introducing innovative harm reduction measures." VANDU was founded in 1998 with the aim of improving the lives of drug addicts through peer support and education. It has broken new ground in the city and the country by allowing drug addicts to speak for themselves and advocate for better treatment. Typically, politicians, police, social workers or health workers speak for or about addicts. The organization has generated its share of controversy in Vancouver, most recently by demanding compensation for panhandlers and prostitutes if film companies disrupt the streets and sidewalks where they earn money. As well, group members have disrupted city council meetings to demand services for addicts. But the group has also been successful in running needle-exchange and education services for addicts, with volunteers patrolling the alleys, and in lobbying for improved health services. It has campaigned to introduce safe-injection sites for users in Canada, a practice in place in Europe and Australia, as a way of reducing overdose deaths and infections among users. The non-profit organization is run by a 15-member board of directors who are all drug users. Along with VANDU, a missing Chinese AIDS activist who reportedly has been detained by China's secret police was named the recipient of the international award. Wan Yanhai, who was last seen Aug. 25 in Beijing, is being recognized for publicizing an unsanitary Chinese blood-buying industry that infected thousands of people with the AIDS virus. Wan's wife, Su Zhaosheng, is to accept the Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights on his behalf in Montreal today, said a statement by New York-based Human Rights Watch. Su lives in Los Angeles. Friends and activists abroad, citing Chinese sources, said last week that Wan was detained on charges of "leaking state secrets" for distributing a government report on AIDS. "Dr. Wan has been on the front lines of fighting an epidemic that Chinese authorities would prefer to sweep under the rug," said a statement issued by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Chinese authorities have not confirmed whether Wan is in government custody. Asked Thursday about the case, foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said, "I have nothing to offer." Wan, a former Chinese health ministry official, founded the anti-AIDS group Aizhi Action Project in 1994 to fight discrimination against homosexuals and people with AIDS. He received international media coverage last year when he called attention to the blood-buying industry in the central province of Henan that infected thousands of poor villagers. Blood sellers were re-injected with pooled blood after buyers removed important components, making it possible for one infected person to spread the AIDS virus to many others. After denying for years that AIDS was a problem, China has begun to release information on the disease. The health ministry said last week that China expects one million people will be infected with the AIDS virus by the end of this year. It said that number could reach 10 million by the end of this decade without proper prevention measures. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D