Premier promises more work in AIDS fight
Print Edition
CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang yesterday promised more work on the prevention and treatment of AIDS and said China is willing to cooperate with other countries to combat HIV.
Li was visiting Beijing’s YouAn Hospital, home to a center for HIV/AIDS treatment, ahead of World AIDS Day today.
The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China had hit 497,000 by the end of October, with 154,000 deaths, according to latest official figures.
Highlighting an obvious increase in the number of HIV carriers and AIDS patients, Wang Guoqiang, vice director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said sexual transmission is the main infection channel while mother-to-child and drug needle infection rates are at a lower level.
Wang said infections among young students, the middle aged and the elderly had been particularly noticeable.
Some 3,413 anti-virus treatment institutions have been set up in 31 provincial-level regions, and more than 9,000 voluntary HIV test stations set up across the country.
Noting that China still boasts low HIV rates, Premier Li said the government must assume the principal role in combating HIV and would continue to increase input on its prevention and treatment.
Efforts should be made to strengthen HIV screening, focus on high risk groups, and seek breakthroughs in the development of new-generation vaccines and drugs to counter the virus, he said.
HIV prevention and treatment measures that have been proven to be technologically sound, economically affordable and socially benefitting should be promoted across the country, Li said, adding that efforts must be made first to ensure zero mother-to-child infections.
The premier said the government would rely more on the private sector, set up HIV prevention funds, and perfect its tax reduction and exemption policies for welfare organizations.
It would also work to ensure HIV-positive patients’ access to equal employment and medical treatment, and improve their life quality.
China is also willing to deepen cooperation and share its experiences with the world in combating HIV, the premier said.
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