China could soon have more HIV cases than any other country in the
world, according to an advance copy of a U.N. Joint Program on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) report obtained by Agence France-Presse today.
An "HIV/AIDS disaster of unimaginable proportions now lies in wait to
rattle the country, and it can be feared that in just a couple of years,
China might count more HIV infections than any other country in the world,"
AIDS in China: New Millennium, Titanic Challenge reportedly reads.
"We can still prevent the worst from happening, but time is quickly running
out. Now, then, is the time to act."
Last year, China was praised for its acknowledgment of an HIV contamination
scandal in blood banks and its first HIV/AIDS conference. Now, AFP
reports, UNAIDS is accusing Beijing of a lack
of openness in dealing with the problem, an inadequate response
and a faulty detection system that focuses mainly on prisons and hospitals
while cases elsewhere go unreported. It blames the rapid spread of
the disease on low awareness, migration, poverty, prostitution, increasing
sexual openness and low condom use.
"We are now witnessing the unfolding of an HIV/AIDS epidemic of proportions
beyond belief, an epidemic which calls for an urgent and proper, but currently
yet unanswered, major response," the agency reportedly says. "Millions
of Chinese have never heard the word AIDS. Many more still think
that it is more likely to contract HIV from mosquito bites or handshaking
than through sharing needles or unsafe sex."
Despite official estimates that only 850,000 Chinese have HIV, the United
Nations believes -- owing to evidence such as 80 percent HIV rates among
drug users in some areas -- that more than 1 million Chinese may be carrying
the virus. The United Nations is calling on civil society and affected
communities to complement Beijing's response with their own prevention
programs (AFP, June 6, 2002).