A 9.8-million-US-dollar project cosponsored by the British
Department for International Development (BDID) and the Norwegian
government has been launched in Xinjiang to help the northwestern
Uygur Autonomous Region prevent HIV/AIDS.
The policy support project for HIV/AIDS is aimed at helping
China enhance the ability to develop health policies and build an
efficient and equitable system to prevent HIV infection, said a
project manager of BDID, an agency of the British government
responsible for helping developing countries eliminate extreme
poverty.
Designed by the Chinese government, the Joint United Nations
Program on HIV/AIDS and BDID, the three-year project has received 5
million British pounds from BDID, 6 million Swiss francs from the
Norwegian government and 3 million Australian dollars from the
Australian government.
Xinjiang had reported 11,303 HIV infected cases by the end of
September but health authorities estimate at least 60,000 people
are HIV carriers in the region.
Prior to Xinjiang, the project had been launched in the central
provinces of Hunan and Hubei.
(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)