The State Council is going to adopt a regulation on HIV/AIDS
prevention and control, Vice Health Minister Wang Longde said
Wednesday.
"The State Council has approved the regulation and will
promulgate it soon," Wang said at a news conference.
"The regulation specifies the responsibilities of governments at
various levels and the rights and obligations of people living with
HIV as well as AIDS patients," Wang said.
It also lays down rules for running the national HIV/AIDS
prevention and control system and testing system, and sets out
measures for the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Wang said poor awareness and failure to implement the
government's policy in some parts of the country are challenging
the HIV/AIDS prevention and control in China.
AIDS publicity and intervention measures for high-risk groups
and the migrant population should be strengthened, he said.
China currently has about 650,000 people living with HIV/AIDS
including about 75,000 AIDS patients, according to a newly issued
report.
The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in China stood at
840,000 in 2003, because the number of commercial blood sellers was
overestimated at that time.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2006)