War on AIDS a top priority
( 2003-09-24 10:20) (China Daily)
China has always attached great importance to HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment, and is willing to contribute to the global fight against the deadly
affliction, a senior Chinese health official said on Monday.
AIDS, the challenge
of the whole world. | Addressing the HIV/AIDS
high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, Executive
Vice-Minister of Health Gao Qiang said the Chinese Government appreciates the
relentless efforts and outstanding contributions made by the United Nations in
promoting global actions against HIV/AIDS.
Gao said the Chinese Government has treated the prevention and treatment of
HIV/AIDS, a serious threat to public health and safety, as a strategic issue for
social stability, economic growth and national prosperity and security, and has
given top priority to this endeavour.
Drawing on the experience and lessons learned in the past decade, the Chinese
public health authorities have established the principle of focusing on
prevention, integrating prevention with treatment and adopting comprehensive
measures to deal with HIV/ AIDS, he said.
An African medical
worker embraces an AIDS patient. | The Chinese
Government has also drawn up medium and long-term strategic plans to prevent and
control HIV/AIDS, while taking actions to crack down on such criminal activities
as illegal blood collecting, smuggling, drug trafficking and prostitution, said
Gao.
Meanwhile, the central and local governments have allocated 6.8 billion yuan
(US$822.2 million) to establish and improve disease prevention and control
mechanisms in various provinces, and invested 2.25 billion yuan (US$272 million)
to improve and upgrade the blood stations in China's central and western
regions.
Gao said China is now developing a nationwide HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment mechanism featuring "government leadership, multi-sector co-operation
and public participation."
However, the minister noted that HIV/AIDS has not been brought under
effective control in China. Citing the initial analysis of a joint HIV/AIDS
epidemiological survey conducted in co-operation with the World Health
Organization (WHO) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), he
said China has about 840,000 HIV/ AIDS infections, including 80,000 HIV/AIDS
patients.
He warned that China still faces an uphill battle in its HIV/AIDS prevention
and treatment, citing a big income gap among different regions, underdevelopment
in rural areas and criminal offences like drug trafficking and prostitution that
helped spread HIV/AIDS.
|
