Beijing: China will have about 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS by 2015, says a government report.
China has over 740,000 HIV/AIDS patients in the mainland and sex is one of the major means of transmission of the disease.
The report, titled "Action Plan to Prevent and Control HIV/AIDS (2011-15)" and scheduled for formal release in the first half of 2011, says that despite a low prevalence nationwide, the epidemic is rising sharply among high-risk groups like gay men and sex workers.
"Given that reality, limiting new HIV infections in the next five years to no more than 500,000 is an arduous task and requires highly effective interventions," Wang Ning, deputy director of the National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, was quoted as saying by China Daily Saturday.
"We can`t prohibit the sufferers from having sex," he said, adding that it was "pretty hard" for vulnerable groups like sex workers who on an average meet thousands of clients a year.
The action plan said during the coming five years, more targeted intervention programmes will be carried out among the risk group to increase their use of condoms to more than 90 percent.
At present, unprotected sex is "rampant" and even among those covered by intervention programmes only about 72 percent use protective measures, it said.
Efforts to educate the public should also be intensified, it said.
About 70,000 of the 130,000 full-blown AIDS patients are receiving anti-retroviral treatment provided free by the government, according to the ministry of health.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.