World AIDS Day

Editor's Note: China is estimated to have about 740,000 HIV-positive citizens, and about 100,000 AIDS patients among its 1.3 billion people. World AIDS Day this year is all about raising awareness to tackle HIV prejudice and help stop the spread of HIV. This special coverage is to help you know more about HIV/AIDS and find out what you can do to act aware.

Numbers in China
AIDS among teens, seniors on the rise in Beijing	20,000 more AIDS deaths in one year
The number of HIV/AIDS carriers aged over 60 in the capital has been increasing in recent years, an official surnamed Mao from the Beijing Health Bureau revealed on Nov 26, 2010. Mao said the number of teenagers and seniors with HIV/AIDS was climbing fast in the city. By the end of September, Beijing had 61 such clinics in 16 districts and counties. According to statistics from the bureau, four hospitals that offer treatment to people with HIV/AIDS - including YouAn Hospital and Ditan Hospital - had helped more than 1,100 patients this year.	By the end of October, China detected roughly 44,000 new HIV infections this year, with nearly 13 percent infected through gay sex, the latest ministry statistics showed. Reported AIDS-related deaths reached 68,000, up nearly 20,000 year-on-year. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, since the 1980s, when the disease first emerged in the country, the total registered AIDS patients and HIV carriers have surpassed 370,000, with more than 130,000 being AIDS patients. The AIDS control situation in some regions was especially grave -six regions of Yunnan, Henan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Xinjiang and Guangxi which account for a disproportionate 77.1 percent of the country's total HIV/AIDS sufferers. According to the statement, sex is the most prevalent method of AIDS transmission in the country, with male-to-male sex accounting for 8.6 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in 2009, up from 5.9 percent in 2008.

To curb the spread of AIDS

Campaign to target HIV/AIDS risk groups

An intervention program will be expanded to include at least 90 percent of groups considered at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS by 2015, in a move to reverse the spread of the virus, a leading health official said.

Boost routine testing of drug users to prevent spread of AIDS

The spread of HIV and AIDS among millions of people could be slowed if addicts who inject drugs are treated as medical patients rather than as criminals, says the International Federation of the Red Cross.

Experts: Same-sex marriage could help curb HIV

"To legalize same-sex marriage could help stabilize and sustain gay relationships, thereby lowering the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS".

Opera hits right note with safe sex plot

From pamphlets to workshops, health authorities across China are trying every conceivable way to spread the word about AIDS and HIV prevention, particularly to rural residents. One of the most successful in the northwest has been a tear-jerking love story performed in qinqiang opera, a style popular in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

NGOs swing spotlight on protecting gays

As the number of HIV infection cases shrinks in Guangzhou, the local community is asking for more awareness to be given to members of the gay population who are suffering from AIDS.

Absolute Distance brings you closer to AIDS

An exhibition, named "Absolute Distance", aims at eliminating discrimination surrounding AIDS and reflects the living conditions of patients. The exhibition consists of the creation of 20 artists, who have been living and working with AIDS patients in rural areas of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Yunnan and Shanxi provinces in South, Southwest and North China for nearly one year.

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is caused by the human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus. This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors.

HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid and breast milk.

This transmission can involve sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. The average delitescence of HIV virus in the human body is 12 to 13 years.

Discrimination against HIV carriers & AIDS patients

Mandatory HIV testing of workers in China should be revoked and the right of people living with HIV (PLWHIV) to employment should be protected, a report released in Beijing on Nov 30, 2010 advocated. The report, HIV and AIDS Related Employment Discrimination in China, was released at an event held by the International Labor Organization (ILO), UNAIDS and Marie Stopes International. The report documents discrimination against PLWHIV in workplaces across China, including the mandatory testing of workers, the denial of job offers, forced resignations, mandatory job changes and demotions. [Full story]
A volunteer (L) embraces a local resident in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, during an HIV awareness campaign held by the Chi Heng Foundation on Nov 29, 2010.	HIV job applicant lodges appeal against court ruling An HIV-positive college graduate on Nov 29, 2010 lodged an appeal against a district court ruling that said a local education bureau in East China's Anhui province had not unlawfully discriminated against him when it decided not to employ him after learning of his HIV status. The young man's lawsuit against the education bureau was the first alleged case of HIV-related employment discrimination to reach a Chinese court. [Full story]

HIV-positive still face job discrimination

"In China 89.47 percent of HIV-infected people have lost their jobs because of their health condition."

Examples of discrimination against people with HIV in workplaces across the country include mandatory testing of workers, denial of job opportunities, forced resignations and restricted access to health insurance. [Full story]

AIDS patients - ordinary people who need respect and care


Orphans cope after loss to AIDS The children have lost their parents to AIDS. But they are growing up with good care at this school, where 78 orphans study on the first floor and live on the upper one. This social welfare institution, provides the children with primary and middle school education.	A handshake was all it took to transform a life AIDS patient Wang Mengcai looks into the mirror at Beijing Ditan Hospital's Home of Red Ribbon and declares himself immensely satisfied with his new haircut."I look more handsome," he says. [Full story]	No longer forgotten Until recently, a 6-year-old HIV-positive boy has lived holed up in a remote mountain village, cut off from humanity with only a dog for company.[Full story]

To date, China has reported more than 6,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers aged below 15, and about 3,000 of them are already full-blown AIDS patients who need antiviral medications, statistics from the Ministry of Health revealed.

In China, most child sufferers contract the virus from their infected mothers.

This year the central government has invested nearly 800 million yuan ($120 million) mainly to expand HIV intervention programs targeting mother-to-child transmission, official statistics have revealed. [Full story]

'AIDS is close to you'


A child works as a volunteer to promote awareness about AIDS prevention, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, Nov 27, 2010.	A dentist works on the street in Huangshi, Hubei province, Nov 24. Improper disinfection may cause many diseases, including AIDS.	A volunteer takes part in an AIDS prevention awareness campaign by talking to a worker from a nearby building site, Nantong, Jiangsu province, Nov 28, 2010.

A staff member from the disease prevention and control bureau of Yaohai District plays games with students in Hefei, Anhui province on Nov 29, 2010.	Volunteers adorn themselves with red ribbons during an AIDS prevention awareness campaign, in Enshi, Hubei province, Nov 25, 2010.	University students sign up to show their support for an AIDS prevention awareness campaign, at Hubei University for Nationalities, Enshi, Hubei province, Nov 25, 2010.

World's AIDS awareness campaign

Video

On the 23rd World AIDS Day, two China Daily reporters, Duan Yan and Shan Juan, bring you their cover story. While Duan interviewed a number of sex workers and disease control staff members in Yunnan province, Shan went to Gansu province for a Qin opera that tells a story about AIDS to rural residents. China Daily brings you their stories behind the scenes. [Please click here to watch the video]

Comment

The outlook

3 big developments make AIDS outlook more hopeful

Three striking developments took place on Nov 23, 2010: UN officials said new HIV cases are dropping dramatically worldwide. A study showed that a daily pill already on pharmacy shelves could help prevent new infections in gay men. And the pope opened the way for the use of condoms to prevent AIDS.

"I don't know of a day where so many pieces are beginning to align for HIV prevention and treatment, and frankly with a view to ending the epidemic," said Mitchell Warren, head of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, a nonprofit group that works on HIV prevention research. "This is an incredibly opportune moment and we have to be sure we seize it."
[Full story]

Chinese expert seeks to kill HIV with another virus

Liu Chang, a 28-year-old instructor with medical school of Nankai University in Tiajin, proposes to create a virus in the lab that could kill HIV, the virus causing the deadly AIDS, which kills people worldwide.

His idea helped him win a $100,000 research grant from Grand Challenges Explorations, part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative supported by the Gates Foundation. The initiative is a five-year, $100 million program to promote innovation in global health.

"It's big pleasant surprise for me to get the grant supporting my research, which might one day help save AIDS victims," Liu said. [Full story]