Photo: © AP
Yesterday, World AIDS Day was observed with public activities all over the world. But what came out from those events? This year, China made a difference. For the first time, Chinese authorities were openly marking World AIDS Day. This is even more remarkable if we think about China's population and the country's growing importance as a major global power.
Ten years ago China was highly secretive about its AIDS epidemic but now World AIDS Day became part of the Communist Party's health awareness agenda. By the end of 2011, an estimated 780,000 people will be living with HIV/AIDS in China which means that about 40,000 people became infected in the past year. The statistics indicate that nearly 82 percent of infections resulted from sex and that infections among men over the age of 60 have increased to nearly 9 percent of the country's total, mostly due to unprotected sex. UNAIDS officer in China, Guy Taylor, says around a third of those new infections are from homosexual transmissions. This trend is worrying and the infection rates are higher in isolated places. Mr. Taylor also says other countries are suffering a similar rise among gay men. Social stigma, discrimination and ignorance about the disease are preventing those infected men to have tests. More and more, people should be encouraged to undergo tests and treatment. But given such social stigma, independent clinics and advice centers may be the right places to do that.
Of course there is a lot to do in China. Community based organizations have an important role to play: there is more proximity, they can reach more easily those communities and understand their needs better. However, non-government organizations are routinely banned or restricted and activists arrested. Those who speak too loudly about the government's AIDS policy in China can be arrested and disappear. Political leaders in China must face the problem instead of pretending AIDS doesn't exist. Activists who could play a part on the solution cannot be intimidated and locked up. One of the many problems in China is the fact that hospitals have poor screening measures, meaning that thousands of Chinese people contract AIDS when they give or receive blood. Of course none of this is told, and patients cannot claim compensations to the Health Ministry.
Let's hope things will change step by step. The fact that the state media have covered the World AIDS Day with lengthy editorials, statistics and reports about the government's plans to fight the spread of AIDS in its flagship five-year plan is already an important action to combat the spread of the disease. But a lot more has to be done.
Ten years ago China was highly secretive about its AIDS epidemic but now World AIDS Day became part of the Communist Party's health awareness agenda. By the end of 2011, an estimated 780,000 people will be living with HIV/AIDS in China which means that about 40,000 people became infected in the past year. The statistics indicate that nearly 82 percent of infections resulted from sex and that infections among men over the age of 60 have increased to nearly 9 percent of the country's total, mostly due to unprotected sex. UNAIDS officer in China, Guy Taylor, says around a third of those new infections are from homosexual transmissions. This trend is worrying and the infection rates are higher in isolated places. Mr. Taylor also says other countries are suffering a similar rise among gay men. Social stigma, discrimination and ignorance about the disease are preventing those infected men to have tests. More and more, people should be encouraged to undergo tests and treatment. But given such social stigma, independent clinics and advice centers may be the right places to do that.
Of course there is a lot to do in China. Community based organizations have an important role to play: there is more proximity, they can reach more easily those communities and understand their needs better. However, non-government organizations are routinely banned or restricted and activists arrested. Those who speak too loudly about the government's AIDS policy in China can be arrested and disappear. Political leaders in China must face the problem instead of pretending AIDS doesn't exist. Activists who could play a part on the solution cannot be intimidated and locked up. One of the many problems in China is the fact that hospitals have poor screening measures, meaning that thousands of Chinese people contract AIDS when they give or receive blood. Of course none of this is told, and patients cannot claim compensations to the Health Ministry.
Let's hope things will change step by step. The fact that the state media have covered the World AIDS Day with lengthy editorials, statistics and reports about the government's plans to fight the spread of AIDS in its flagship five-year plan is already an important action to combat the spread of the disease. But a lot more has to be done.
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