Central Government Releases HIV/AIDS Statistics, Launches Migrant Awareness Program

January 3, 2006

The State Council Working Committee on AIDS Prevention and Treatment reported that the number of confirmed HIV/AIDS carriers in China has risen to more than 130,000, according to the transcript of a November 29 teleconference posted on the National Population and Family Planning Commission Web site. That number accounts for only about 16 percent of the total estimated HIV/AIDS cases in the country, according to comments made by Vice Premier Wu Yi during the teleconference.

The State Council Working Committee on AIDS Prevention and Treatment reported that the number of confirmed HIV/AIDS carriers in China has risen to more than 130,000, according to the transcript of a November 29 teleconference posted on the National Population and Family Planning Commission Web site. That number accounts for only about 16 percent of the total estimated HIV/AIDS cases in the country, according to comments made by Vice Premier Wu Yi during the teleconference.

Wu also expressed frustration with the slow pace of prevention work by governments at the local level, criticizing local officials for disregarding national policy on AIDS prevention. Local officials sometimes retaliate against AIDS victims who express their grievances. Beijing authorities forced two AIDS patients who had traveled to the capital to present grievances to return to their homes in Henan province, according to a December 1 Agence France-Presse story carried by the South China Morning Post (subscription required). Police also beat several HIV carriers participating in a sit-in outside a hospital in Xingtai, Hebei province, according to a November 15 Radio Free Asia report.

The State Council and the Ministry of Health announced the formation of a joint program which aims to ensure that 65 percent of migrant workers have access to HIV/AIDS prevention information by the end of 2006, and 85 percent by 2010, according to a November 29 announcement on the Ministry of Health Web site. Wang Longde, Vice Minister of Health, described migrant workers as a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS infection, and criticized local governments for only providing HIV/AIDS prevention services to people with residential registration, according to a November 29 Xinhua report.

A recent UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update characterized poor public awareness as one of the major constraints hindering a more effective response to HIV/AIDS in China. For a further discussion of HIV/AIDS in China, see Section III(h) - Public Health, of the Commission’s 2005 Annual Report.