China's Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang has said that the population
of HIV carriers in the country still continues to increase and the
situation is "fairly grim". However, he said the spread of AIDS
through blood-selling has been greatly reduced because of the
government's effort to close down illegal blood centers. The
following is the text of an interview entitled: "'Three cares' on the
16th World AIDS Day - interviewing Gao Qiang, party group secretary
and executive vice-secretary of the PRC Ministry of Public Health",
carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 1 December: How is the current spread of AIDS in China? What
measures has the Chinese government taken to step up AIDS prevention
and control? On the 16th World AIDS Day, this staff reporter had an
exclusive interview with Gao Qiang, party group secretary and
executive vice-minister of the Ministry of Public health.

Reporter: How is the current spread of AIDS in China?

Gao Qiang: In June 2003, the China Disease Prevention and Control
Centre conducted a nationwide AIDS epidemiological survey, and they
have analyzed the survey results together with experts from relevant
countries and international organizations. As the survey results
show, there are currently 840,000 HIV carriers in China, including
about 80,000 AIDS patients. We have noticed that some experts have
come out with a higher estimated figure, yet we feel the need to
point out that the figure of 840,000 we are talking about here refers
to the country's existing population of HIV carriers excluding those
who already died of the disease.

In recent years, as China has taken strong and effective measures to
close down certain blood centers that are below the required
standards and has spent a lot of money in transforming a large number
of blood centers, the possibility of spreading AIDS through the
channel of blood supply has been greatly reduced. On the other hand,
however, due to the wide existence of numerous harmful factors that
may lead to the spread of AIDS, such as drug-taking and undesirable
sexual behaviors, the population of HIV carriers in China continues
to show an upward trend, and the situation remains fairly grim in
this respect. Particularly, the present is the peak outbreak and
death period for most of the patients who contracted AIDS virus in
the 1990s through illegal blood-collecting and supplying channels. It
can be said that the consequences would be unimaginable should we
fail to take effective and firm measures but allow AIDS to spread
unchecked.

Reporter: What is the greatest difficulty China is now facing in the
area of AIDS prevention and control?

Gao Qiang: In my opinion, the greatest difficulty is that propaganda
and education are yet to keep up with the development pace of the
country's AIDS prevention and control. In recent years, China has
devoted great efforts to and has achieved remarkable results in
various aspects of AIDS prevention and control, including drawing up
a national program for AIDS prevention and control, assigning
specific government organs to take charge of different aspects of the
work, ensuring a sound implementation of prevention and control
measures, launching mass campaigns on public health and education,
and improving medical care and treatment with regard to the disease.
However, propaganda and education in this respect are still lacking
in both intensity and depth, and have yet to be turned into an
extensive regular mass activity; moreover, certain localities tend
to "turn pale at the mere mention of AIDS" or will "avoid making any
comments on the topic while handling the issue", for fear that such a
topic will tarnish their image.

Reporter: Among the general public, many still believe that AIDS is
the sole business of public health authorities.

Gao Qiang: AIDS is by no means a simple medical and health issue.
Instead, it is a major strategic issue that has a vital importance to
the health of the people, to the development of our economy, to the
existence of our nation, and to the security of our country;
meanwhile, it also proves to be a serious social problem. The CCP
(Chinese Communist Party) Central Committee and the State Council
have assigned great importance to the work of AIDS prevention and
control, and have placed the work on the major work agenda of
governments at all levels. A "State Council coordination meeting
system for the prevention and control of AIDS and other venereal
diseases" was introduced in 1996, which was composed of 34 ministries
and commissions, with its coordination office set up in the Ministry
of Public Health. Today, corresponding leading and coordinative
mechanisms have also been introduced in a number of provinces and
municipalities. In line with the arrangements of the State Council
Office for the Coordination Meeting System for AIDS Prevention and
Control, a number of departments and social bodies, including those
engaged in education, public security, justice, railways, family
planning, radio and television as well as federations of trade
unions, the All-China Youth Federation, and the All-China Women's
Federation, have devoted great efforts to promoting propaganda and
training in this respect; meanwhile, in the light of the special
characteristics of different social groups, various departments have
launched public health and education campaigns in different forms and
have made experiments with the practice of behavior intervention,
and have achieved certain results in their work.

Reporter: Please brief us on China's financial inputs in the work of
AIDS prevention and control.

Gao Qiang: Starting the year 2001, the special funds assigned by the
central finance to the country's work of AIDS prevention and control
has increased from 15m yuan to 100m yuan a year; an investment
composed of 1.25bn yuan of national bonds and 1bn yuan of local
auxiliary funds has been made for the purpose of improving the
infrastructural construction and auxiliary facilities of blood
centers in China's central and western regions; and a total of 459
blood centers and blood banks have either been built or transformed.
Meanwhile, the central government and local governments have jointly
invested 6.8bn yuan in the establishment of endemic disease
prevention and control institutions, while over 2bn yuan has been
earmarked as a special fund for AIDS prevention and control each year.

Reporter: What specific measures has China taken to improve medical
treatment for AIDS patients?

Gao Qiang: Relevant departments under the Chinese government have
provided fast channels for approving the import registration as well
as the research and manufacturing of anti-AIDS medicine in China, and
has given its consent to the issue of localizing imported anti-AIDS
medicine. Today, China has already given approval to the domestic
production of four foreign anti-virus drugs with an expired patent,
and has formed two second-line (Chinese: er xian) "cocktail"
formulas; and this serves to lower medicine costs from about 40,000
yuan per person each year on imported medicine down to about 4,000
yuan per person each year. In 2003, China has provided 5,000 portions
of free anti-virus drugs for the treatment of AIDS virus patients in
such key areas as Henan and Anhui. Moreover, since the year 2002, the
Ministry of Public Health has begun to implement a comprehensive
programme for AIDS prevention and control in counties seriously hit
by the epidemic, with a view to ensuring a sound implementation of
various prevention and control measures. The project of building the
first batch of 51 demonstration zones, which cover 11 key provinces,
formally got started in March this year; and will be extended to 127
counties by the end of this year.

Reporter: "Care for one another and share the joys of life" is the
theme slogan for this year's World AIDS Day in China. How do you
understand this theme?

Gao Qiang: The theme for this year's World AIDS Day is to "care for
one another, and share the joys of life". In my understanding, this
theme gives expression to "three cares": "Care for patients, care for
oneself, and care for others". By showing care for AIDS patients, we
treat them on an equal footing and provide them with necessary
assistance, oppose discrimination, bring them care and warmth, let
them feel the loving care of the party, the government, and the
society, and provide them with a relaxed and sound working and living
environment. All this is of vital importance to helping AIDS patients
overcome the disease. Meanwhile, we should care for ourselves, and
this means that every one of us should conscientiously learn
knowledge on AIDS prevention and control, and restrain our behaviors
so that we will not be infected with AIDS. As for HIV carriers, they
should care for others, and make sure not to spread AIDS virus to
others. Only when we all have loving care for one another can ours
become a harmonious society; and once we care and protect one
another, we will surely claim victory over AIDS. With such a
favorable social ambience, we shall feel no fear in the face of
difficulties.
 

"Chinese Health Official says AIDS Situation Still 'Fairly Grim,'"
Xinhua News Agency (Beijing), 1 December 2003.