China Tells UN It Is Capable Of Curbing Exploding HIV/AIDS Epidemic

SINO DAILY

In this picture taken 07 December 2004, a woman waits in front of a billboard promoting AIDS awarness, at a Beijing subway station; Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told a top UN official that China is 'determined and capable' of controlling its exploding HIV/AIDS epidemic, state media said 14 June 2005. China has an estimated 840,000 people infected with HIV, including 80,000 with full blown AIDS, according to official figures. International groups believe the real figure is much higher with The United Nations having predicted 10 million cases in China in five years' time if the outbreak goes unchecked. AFP photo by Frederic J. Brown.

Beijing (AFP) Jun 14, 2005
Premier Wen Jiabao told a top UN official that China is "determined and capable" of controlling its exploding HIV/AIDS epidemic, as the official warned Tuesday that much more work was needed.

"China is still facing serious challenges in HIV/AIDS prevention and control, but the Chinese government is determined and capable of curbing the spread of the disease to ensure the people live a healthy and peaceful life," Wen said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

He made the comments in a meeting on Monday with Peter Piot, executive director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), who has warned that a "truly exceptional response" is needed from Beijing to control the disease's spread.

China has an estimated 840,000 people infected with HIV, including 80,000 with full-blown AIDS, according to official figures. International groups believe the real figure is much higher.

The United Nations has predicted 10 million cases in China in five years' time if the outbreak goes unchecked.

Wen said the government understood the risk and attached great importance to curbing the spread of the disease.

China's cabinet set up a high-level committee to oversee HIV/AIDS prevention last year and the government has "greatly increased" financial backing for the fight against AIDS, Wen said.

The visiting Piot, however, told AFP that while he was impressed with the government commitment China still faced major challenges, including ensuring the government's commitment and policies filter down to the grassroots level.

"The key challenge right now for China is to make sure the many good projects can reach the whole country," Piot said.

In September 2003 the government announced it would provide free anti-retroviral treatment to AIDS patients in rural areas and to urban sufferers with financial difficulties.

The program, however, is moving "quite slowly," Piot said.

It has been limited to just over 15,000 people as of March. There is also a dropout rate of about 20 percent since, due to a lack of medical supervision, those who cannot handle the side-effects simply stop taking the drugs.

There is also a death rate of about eight percent, with the drugs reaching those patients too late.

"When you take provinces like Henan and Yunnan, which are quite poor and where the health services are not in good shape, you can't just parachute drugs. You need quite well-trained doctors and nurses," Piot said.

China also needs to provide more assistance to high-risk groups such as drug users, sex workers and homosexuals, he said.

"The most vulnerable population are at highest risk but they are getting the least attention," said Piot.

He urged the government to provide injecting drug users with methadone and access to clean needles to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Good pilot programs, such as one in the southwestern province of Yunnan which teaches police officers to treat drug addicts as patients and not just as law-breakers, should be expanded nationwide, Piot said.

AIDS education should also be made available in "every single school," said Piot.

Despite having more confidence in the ability of China to bring the epidemic under control, Piot said China remained one of the top countries of concern.

"China is on the top of every list because of the size of its population," Piot said. "Even if it is not a big explosion it means many people. One percent of the people is bigger than the population of many African countries."

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

NUKEWARS

China Not Using Clout Against North Korea: US Negotiator

Washington (AFP) Jun 14, 2005
China is not using its political and economic muscle to pressure North Korea to reenter multilateral negotiations aimed at ending its nuclear weapons drive, US President George W. Bush's chief negotiator to the talks said Tuesday.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.