Step up the battle against HIV/AIDS, urges first lady

China should do more in the fight against HIV/AIDS despite the disease affecting only 0.06 percent of its population, first lady Peng Liyuan said on Monday.

Peng said efforts should be stepped up to help sufferers, especially those in hard-hit areas.

There were 810,000 people with HIV/AIDS living in China at the end of last year, according to the latest update issued on Monday by the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention. But only 490,000 of these sufferers have been detected to date and the remainder are unaware of their status.