UNAIDS Examines Challenges In China's Response To HIV/AIDS

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 23 Sep 2008 - 10:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

"Focus on China's AIDS Response," UNAIDS: Although China's HIV prevalence is less than 0.1% of the population, the country continues to experience challenges in addressing the virus, according to a report from UNAIDS. The Chinese government in recent years has improved its response to the epidemic by introducing laws and policies, implementing HIV prevention efforts and increasing access to antiretroviral drugs. According to UNAIDS, HIV prevention activities should continue to be a priority in China, where more than 30 million people are estimated to be participating in behavior that places them at risk of HIV transmission. In addition, stigma and discrimination against people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS continue to hinder China's efforts to address the virus, although the Chinese government recently banned discrimination against HIV-positive people. According to UNAIDS, the implementation of China's national five-year plan to curb HIV/AIDS likely will help keep the number of HIV-positive people below 1.5 million by 2010 (UNAIDS, 9/19).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations