A wave of HIV/AIDS education posters will sweep China soon as
the government steps up its effort to raise AIDS awareness, said
Vice Minister of Health Wang Longde at the ongoing 15th
International AIDS Conference in Thailand.
"We will put up the posters in every street and lane. We will
make sure [our message] makes it to every village," he told a
Monday evening special session dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS in
China.
Wang said the government has realized that dissemination of
knowledge is crucial to preventing the spread of the disease.
People must understand precisely how the virus infects people so
that they will know how they can avoid it, he said.
Educating the rural population is particularly important because
that group generally has less access to information than city
dwellers. Eighty percent of HIV infections in China are in the
countryside.
"We also want to find as many of those infected as soon as
possible so we can treat them and help them return to their normal
lives," he said.
Wang reiterated the country's policies of providing free
treatment to AIDS patients who are not covered by the medicaid
system and providing free HIV tests and social and financial
support to children whose lives are affected by AIDS.
China now has an estimated 840,000 HIV carriers and 80,000 AIDS
patients. Although the prevalence is still low, the increase is
accelerating, and the concentrations in some regions and high
mortality rate among certain groups has made the government realize
the magnitude of the peril.
The theme of the conference, which opened on Sunday and closes
on Friday, is "Access for all," to promote accessible treatment and
prevention.
Leadership was a central topic in panel discussions, and
agreement was unanimous on the significance of strong direction in
mobilizing society to face the global challenge.
China has been widely praised in Bangkok for its practical,
goal-oriented policies and the strong leadership it has
demonstrated. Just before the conference, Premier Wen Jiabao again
promised an all-out fight against HIV/AIDS.
"China means business when it talks about AIDS," said Peter
Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, the United Nations agency for
combating AIDS.
Trevor Neilson, executive director of the global business
coalition on HIV/AIDS, said China's commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS
is "unparalleled."
Neilson's organization is dedicated to uniting major
multinational companies and influential local firms to do their
part in HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Before coming to Bangkok,
he visited China and met with senior health officials.
"They invited us to be part of China's battle with AIDS. Their
spirit of openness and enthusiasm is incredible," he said at a
seminar organized by the US National Press Foundation prior to the
conference.
However, panelists in Bangkok agreed that there still some way
to go in turning the policies of China's central government into
actions in every province, county and village.
Wang said input from the government alone will not be enough.
"We must unite all forces of the entire society, especially from
the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), if we want victory in
containing AIDS," he said.
He said foreign NGOs are also welcome in this regard. Currently,
about a dozen overseas NGOs are operating in China, he said.
Still, the domestic NGOs account for the majority. They possess
special capabilities in educating the general and high-risk
population and providing care and support to those infected,
Chinese scientists and activists have said.
(China Daily July 14, 2004)