The Chinese government has vowed to do more to control the spread
of HIV/AIDS and educate the public about how to protect themselves
against the deadly disease.
Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang said at a national AIDS conference
Tuesday that the number of infected people, while still low
compared with many other countries, is nevertheless increasing
rapidly.
The number of infections reported in the first half of the year is
67.4 per cent higher than compared with the same period last
year.
By
the end of September, 28,133 people in China were confirmed to have
contracted the HIV virus. Of those, 1,208 were AIDS patients and
641 had already died.
But officials estimate that the actual number of HIV infections is
substantially higher: at least 600,000.
"The current HIV/AIDS situation in China is pressing,'' Zhang said
at the opening of the First China AIDS/STD (sexually transmitted
diseases) conference, which drew 2,000 participants nationwide.
He
said the virus is beginning to spread among all citizens, not just
high-risk populations like drug users and homosexuals.
The four-day conference is "an historic event'' in China's response
to HIV/AIDS, said Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint
United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. "Over the next two decades,
what happen in China will determine the global burden of
HIV/AIDS.''
Zhang said that the Chinese Government will invest more money on
efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS over the next five year,
including keeping donated blood contamination-free and teaching the
public how to stay safe.
Early diagnosis and treatment of the disease also will be improved,
he said.
Piot said China is already making headway in controlling the
problem.
"There is a greater willingness to discuss HIV/AIDS more openly
than there was two years ago,'' he said. "Many good projects are
going on in many communities.''
He
spoke highly of China's use of celebrities as spokesman for AIDS
prevention.
Pu
Cunxin, a well-known film star in China, was named the country's
AIDS Prevention spokesman last year and has maintained a
high-profile role in the fight against AIDS.
At
Tuesday's opening ceremony, three more actors and singers were
named as spokespersons: Guo Feng, Gu Juji and Zu Hai.
Associating someone so famous with something still considered
shameful helps raise the public's awareness, Piot said.
Dai Zhicheng, secretary-general of the conference, said educating
people about the disease is the best way to stop it from
spreading.
"Since there is no way to eradicate the HIV virus at present,
everyone in cities and villages should receive health education,''
he said.
Dai urged people to "pay attention to AIDS and take action'' and
said he hoped the conference will enhance public participation in
fighting HIV/AIDS.
The conference will be held every two years, he said.
(China
Daily November 14, 2001)