China Acts on AIDS

China, Africa to jointly fight AIDS

By Kelly Chung Dawson and Zhang Yuwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-24 08:41

UNITED NATIONS - Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday announced an Africa-China partnership to strengthen international AIDS prevention and treatment efforts.

He was speaking at a high-level meeting with world leaders from African nations, including Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Citing a worldwide population of 13 million people currently living with HIV, Wen stressed the urgency of ramping up efforts in the five years before the 2015 goal set out as a Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

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"We cannot turn a deaf ear," Wen said to the gathered assembly. "We should redouble our efforts to advance the global campaign against HIV/AIDS and ensure that the related MDG be met on schedule."

Emphasizing "synergy" and cooperative development initiatives, various leaders spoke about improvements that have been made worldwide, but they also listed sobering statistics that underscore the importance of renewing efforts against the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"To fight against HIV/AIDS is the common responsibility of mankind," Wen said. "The international community needs to foster a spirit of solidarity and assistance and intensify cooperation and AIDS control. Developed countries should honor their commitments and provide technical and financial assistance and developing countries should draw upon developed countries."

The World Health Organization plans to step up coordination and mobilize resources, and countries including Senegal, Namibia, Togo and Kenya all reaffirmed their commitment to tackle Goal 6, which calls for combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

"The era of health and development programs operating in isolation is over," said Michel Sidibe, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"We have to work together to make this one movement. The Africa-China partnership can be the engine that accelerates progress toward the MDGs."

Wen assured the assembly that China views the fight against AIDS as a high priority.

"The Chinese government attaches great importance to AIDS prevention and treatment," he said. "It's been a tough, protracted battle."

According to UNAIDS statistics, an estimated 700,000 Chinese people have HIV, with 85,000 suffering from full-blown AIDS.

There were around 50,000 new infections and 20,000 deaths reported in China in 2007 alone.

While China has made noticeable achievements in MDG Goal 1, which calls for the reduction of poverty, "the only MDG that China seems to be having any problems with is Goal 6", Sidibe said in an interview with China Daily.

Among major challenges faced in China are a lack of information, growing number of people with AIDS in the homosexual community, and mother-to-child transmission.

Ilana Berger, with Health GAP, an AIDS-awareness NGO, pointed to findings by the China Stigma Index, a 2009 study that showed that knowledge about AIDS was still weak overall and that many HIV-positive Chinese people were still experiencing significant discrimination, both in society and at the hands of service providers.

Despite these obstacles, Wen said he is confident that China will meet the MDG on AIDS by 2015.

He listed falling mortality rates and various government-led initiatives, including a change in policy toward blood transfusions and a jump in AIDS funding within China to 6.2 billion yuan ($912 million) this year and a planned contribution of $14 million to the international community during the next three years.

China is also working to provide free voluntary testing and consulting, free schooling for children orphaned by AIDS and free medication for additional patients.

Sidibe cited major moves in the last decade that have seen AIDS prevention in China jump from virtually zero to being the largest harm-reduction program in Asia.

China is also taking a proactive attitude toward the homosexual community by identifying gay meeting places and distributing information and condoms, he said.

"China is developing new strategies in this area," Sidibe said. "Instead of criminalizing (homosexuality) that might push the gay population underground, China is doing the opposite by targeting areas and making information and protection available."