Beijing, Nov 30: China, the world's most populous nation, has been urged by the UNAIDS to take "urgent and vigorous" measures to arrest the spread of aids amid reports that the country may have over one million HIV carriers. "China still has an opportunity to put the spread of the HIV under control if urgent vigorous actions are taken by the government, although the virus continues to spread in the country," director, UNAIDS New York office Desmond Johns said.
Speaking ahead of the World Aids Day tomorrow, Johns said many factors are responsible for rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in China, including poverty, large mobile populations and a lack of basic services like housing, health care and education.
According to the Chinese Health Ministry, China has an estimated 840,000 HIV carriers, including 80,000 people with full-blown aids. The prevalence rate is somewhere between 0.06 per cent and 0.07 per cent. However, unofficial figures put the number of HIV carriers at more than one million.
Johns said that when the prevalence rate reaches 1.0 per cent of the population in a particular country, it is regarded as being a generalised epidemic, meaning it's now spreading just beyond the so-called high risk groups.
"So certainly, getting the epidemic under control early through vigorous actions is extremely important," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
Johns also praised China for moving swiftly to address the problem. The government this year began providing free medicines and treatment to HIV carriers and AIDS patients in the country's rural areas and urban residents in financial difficulties.
Bureau Report