The Ministry of Public Health has urged public health
departments above county level to set up their own AIDS expert
panels to prevent and control the spread of the disease and provide
better services for AIDS victims.
According to an instruction formulated recently by the ministry
in cooperation with the State Administration of Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), the panels should comprise experts in public
health, prevention and control of infectious diseases and lab
testing, as well as in clinical medicine, including TCM
practitioners.
Health authorities with city governments and districts under
their jurisdiction should designate a hospital or a department
within a general hospital (including TCM hospitals where conditions
permit) to provide services for acutely ill AIDS patients,
according to the instruction.
Hospitals providing services for AIDS victims are also urged to
offer HIV-positive pregnant women health consultation, prenatal
advice and delivery services to prevent mother-child transmission
of the virus, and conduct regular interviews with the patients.
China’s AIDS prevention and control work is at a crucial stage
because the epidemic may spread from high-risk groups to the
general population, said Vice-Premier Wu Yi at a national work
conference on AIDS prevention held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
China’s fight against AIDS/HIV has lasted 19 years, since the
first HIV case was reported in 1985. The Ministry of Health
assessment report on China’s AIDS prevention and control indicates
that HIV is an epidemic affecting all the mainland’s 31 provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities. There are 840,000 HIV
carriers in China, of whom 80,000 suffer AIDS.
Experts warn that over 10 million Chinese will be HIV-positive
by 2010 unless effective countermeasures are taken.
To this end, the Chinese government has increased funding for
AIDS-related programs, established AIDS control centers, passed
AIDS-related laws and provided free treatment for the indigent.
China is also cooperating internationally to fight the disease.
Fifty-one county-level regions have been set up to serve as
pilot zones for AIDS prevention and treatment in 11 provinces. In
these zones, efforts are being made to offer free anti-retroviral
drugs, reduce high risk-behavior, prevent maternal transmission,
and provide assistance and care to AIDS patients as well as
voluntary counseling and testing.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2004)