China will hold its first national AIDS conference next month in
Beijing to spur vigilance against the disease in all corners of
Chinese society.
The conference on AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) will
run from November 13 to 16. It will be the first one of its kind in
China since the country reported its first AIDS case in 1985.
The total number of confirmed HIV/AIDS cases throughout China was
28,133 at the end of September, said Yin Dakui, vice-minister of
Health, Friday in Beijing. But he said the total number of
HIV-positive people is estimated to be more than 600,000.
The conference will focus on AIDS prevention and treatment policies
and strategies, cooperation among governmental departments, NGOs
participation, medical research and disease surveillance, said Dai
Zhicheng, secretary-general of the organizing committee.
Health education, behavior modification, medical consultation,
treatment and nursing of AIDS patients are also expected to be
among the hot topics, he said.
The conference, sponsored by the Ministry of Health, aims to unite
the whole society to fight against AIDS and take action to prevent
the disease from spreading.
Academic exchanges on AIDS/STD prevention and treatment will be
another important part of the conference.
Along with high-ranking Chinese officials and specialists in the
field of HIV/AIDS and STD, some volunteers and HIV carriers will
also attend.
Dai said that Peter Piot, executive director of the UN Program on HIV/AIDS>, and
some renowned foreign experts have been invited to the conference
by the organizer.
The World AIDS Conference and the Asia-Pacific regional AIDS
conference, which have been held 13 and six times respectively,
have succeeded in highlighting the issue of AIDS prevention and
treatment around the globe.
Experts warn that China is on the verge of an AIDS epidemic. The
issue can no longer be neglected by society, they stress.
While the number of confirmed HIV/AIDS cases has been increasing in
China, the number of STD cases reached 860,000 last year. However,
experts say the real figure could be five to 10 times higher as
many STD cases are not reported.
China plans to keep the annual increase rates of HIV infection and
STD cases below 10 percent by the year 2005. The figures have
exceeded 30 percent over the past few years.
An
evening party encouraging the spirit of non-discrimination against
HIV carriers and AIDS patients will also be staged at the end of
November and televised nationwide to coincide with World AIDS Day,
which falls on December 1.
Hou Peisen, director of the National Health Education Institute of
China, said that the performers are from the inland of China, Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region, Taiwan Province, and
Canada.
( October 27, 2001)