China on Sunday announced a set of new nationwide measures to intensify the fight against HIV-AIDS, including judging the performance of local officials by how well they prevent the spread of the disease.
The move comes at a time when China's efforts to control the spread of HIV-AIDS has "reached a critical period," the Xinhua news agency quoted Vice Premier and Health Minister Wu Yi (吳儀) as saying.
The disease is spreading rapidly in the country, with certain areas suffering some of the world's highest infection rates.
The State Council on Sunday published the measures in a circular to governments at all levels, ordering them to follow the new guidelines, according to Xinhua.
For the first time, the government said effectiveness in preventing AIDS will be a major criterion for judging local officials' overall work performance.
The measures require that AIDS prevention and control knowledge, as well as knowledge on safe-blood donations, be included in the curricula of all middle schools and higher education institutions, according to Xinhua.
Reflecting China's efforts to fight the respiratory disease SARS, the circular called on railway, civil aviation and other public transportation departments to publicize information on how to prevent AIDS to passengers.
Entertainment venues must also post or distribute printed materials to spread AIDS awareness to patrons, and medical workers have the duty to advise their patients on AIDS prevention and condom use, according to the circular.
Health departments at all levels, together with the Chinese Red Cross, should encourage people to donate blood to bring an end to the illegal blood trade, the measures say.
Pregnant women will receive free medical services in a bid to reduce the possibility of mother-to-baby HIV transmission, according to the circular. The government at the same time will inject more funds into AIDS prevention and treatment to help step up research and production of new AIDS treatment medication.
Poor AIDS patients and HIV carriers with no means to buy medicine, as well as their families and relatives, will receive financial assistance from the government, the circular said.
More efforts will be made to eliminate social discrimination against them, it said.
The Chinese government in the past year has begun addressing the HIV-AIDS epidemic three years after the media exposed a massive outbreak in the countryside affecting farmers who sold blood in unsanitary government-approved schemes up until the mid-1990s.
Official statistics indicate there are 840,000 HIV carriers in China, but Chinese and international officials have said the true figure could be much higher, as many carriers do not know they have the disease.
The number could reach 10 million by 2010 if urgent measures are not taken, experts warn.
RSS