The Yunnan governor vowed to spend more in advocating the
prevention of AIDS this year, China News Service reported
today.
"The government will publicize more information about AIDS to
ensure everyone knows the danger of the deadly disease," said
citing Xu
Rongkai. "The officials in charge of the issue will lose their
jobs if problems happen in the areas they are responsible for."
Yunnan suffers most from the AIDS virus among all Chinese
provinces, partly because of its location near the "Golden
Triangle," one of the world's major drug production bases. Many
AIDS patients and HIV virus carriers are drug addicts there.
To date, 37,042 people in the province are known HIV carriers.
Experts estimated that the real amount of carriers exceeds
80,000.
Xu said the government will try its best to further stop the
spread of AIDS.
Last year, the province and the United States launched a
foundation for AIDS prevention.
The province has set up an inspection system on AIDS, and more
people are becoming aware of the disease. It has increased the
condom use in 98.8 percent of hotels and entertainment venues and
set up organizations for 266 orphans, whose parents died of AIDS,
to go to school.
(Shanghai Daily February 21, 2006)