Already a household name in China, Gao Yaojie's international reputation as one of the country's most prominent activists was given added impetus after she was awarded this year's Vital Voices Global Women Leadership for Human Rights. The award will be presented to her in the United States on March 14 in recognition of her continuous efforts in combating AIDS.

Gao, 80, has been committed to raising awareness about the prevention of HIV/AIDS and helping AIDS orphans since 1996, when an increasing number of people with the disease were reported in her home province, Henan. The veteran physician has continuously warned local medical authorities about how serious the situation is, after hundreds of positive cases were traced back to the illegal trade in blood and plasma.

Gao lays the blame for the inability to stamp out illegal blood selling squarely at the door of certain local officials. They responded by trying to stop her from traveling to the United States to collect her award, prompting the Central Government to step in and overrule the decision. Before her departure on February 25, Vice Minister of Health Wang Longde visited Gao and admitted the government's failure in reducing the spread of AIDS from infected blood transfusions. The Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily Urban News applauded Wang for his "great sincerity" in taking responsibility in his open admission to Gao.

Over the past years, Gao has printed thousands of brochures and flyers to educate rural residents about the disease and its deadly impact. She also donated her own retirement pension to buy medicine for those living with the disease. Since 2000, she has assisted 164 AIDS orphans and helped them find new homes. In 2004, Gao published a book in which she included over 200 letters mailed to her by AIDS patients, revealing the tragic reality of rural Chinese who are living with the disease.