The Ministry of Education (MOE) presented statistics yesterday showing university students know less about AIDS than their junior high school counterparts.
The figures show the number of AIDS cases is growing by 22 percent a year and that more than 70 percent of Taiwan's AIDS patients are aged 20 to 39.
The statistics were released in conjunction with results from an AIDS questionnaire given to students.
The survey showed most students hold discriminatory attitudes about AIDS patients.
According to the statistics, 37 percent of AIDS patients are aged 20 to 29, the highest among all age groups.
"Since the first AIDS case was reported in Taiwan in 1984, the number of AIDS patients has grown to 4,590," Deputy Minister of Education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) said.
"The number of AIDS patients increases by 22 percent each year," Fan said at a press conference.
At this rate of growth, Fan said, the number of people infected with the disease will reach more than 14,000 in 10 years' time.
According to Fan, if the number of AIDS patients continues to grow by more than 20 percent annually, the medical costs caused by the epidemic will hit NT$26.2 billion by 2011.
"Moreover, social costs caused by the disease will reach as much as NT$174.4 billion that same year," Fan said.
Ou Nai-ming (歐乃銘), director of the Center for Disease Control's Division of AIDS and STDs, said the government aims to halt growth in the number of AIDS patients by 2006.
Fan said the average age of Taiwan's AIDS patients appears to be getting younger.
"To strengthen teenagers' knowledge of AIDS, the MOE conducted a survey in 182 schools last month," Fan said.
The schools were divided into five groups: primary schools, junior high schools, high schools, vocational schools and universities.
* Thirty-seven percent of AIDS patients in Taiwan are aged 20 to 29.
* The Ministry of Education says the number of AIDS cases rises by 22 percent a year.
* The number of high school boys infected with AIDS is 13 times higher than that of high school girls.
* Fifty-two percent of high school students got a perfect score on the AIDS survey, compared with 37 percent of junior high school students and 35.1 percent of university students.
Yen Yu-ju (
"The questionnaire contains 10 yes-or-no questions about AIDS. The survey shows 52 percent of high school students got perfect scores," Yen said.
According to Yen, high school students performed best in the survey, while university students, to her surprise, performed worse than junior high school students.
Yen said that while 37 percent of junior high school students got perfect results, only 35.1 percent of university students were able to do so.
Yen added that the number of high school boys infected with AIDS is 13 times higher than that of high school girls.
Girls also performed better than boys in the survey, Yen said.
"The theme of this year's world AIDS day, Stigma and Discrimination, is significant as the survey revealed Taiwanese students do discriminate against AIDS patients," Yen said.
Fan said the ministry plans to launch a series of activities to improve students' knowledge of AIDS.
"For example, a two-hour course on the disease will be taught to all first-year high school students starting this year," Fan said.
RSS