Funds Increase, Situation Still Serious for AIDS Treatment

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 09, 2002

Funds Increase, Situation Still Serious for AIDS Treatment

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Recently the Chinese Government has decided to raise the funds for the Prevention and treatment of the AIDS from the former annual 15 million-yuan to 100 million-yuan and also arranged some 1250 million-yuan of state-debt for it. How much must be put in for the prevention and control of the AIDS?

An international conference held recently in Beijing revealed that though mankind is now able to control the HIV virus within the body to an extremely low level by using the anti-AIDS medicine yet the treatment fee is terribly high. This has put all the developing countries in the world at a great loss.

Taking China for example, the HIV carriers were reported 30,736 cases by the end of 2001. If the treatment fee is averaged at RMB 110,000 - 130,000 yuan per capita the annual treatment fee amounts to RMB 4 billion-yuan. However, according to experts the number of the reported AIDS-sufferers was only a corner of an iceberg. Counting half of the infected the annual treatment fee will come to somewhere around RMB 54.6 billion-yuan.

Long Yongtu, vice-minister of the MOFTEC said, the AIDS disease is not only a medical and a public health problem but also a social problem. It requires the whole society to get into action for it.

As revealed from the Disease-control Department of the Ministry of Health, though the "program for prevention and control of AIDS in 2001 - 2005" has been issued and the funds for it by the Chinese Government been increased from 15 million to 100 million and with an additional 1250 million of state debt arranged for it, it's still not sufficient for the actual needs for monitoring, checking up, educating the public for interference and taking care of as well as for the treatment of the disease.

The AIDS monitoring system in China at present is still imperfect and is short of monitoring spots, which are especially so among the groups difficult to get in touch and go along with. So, it's hard to tell the actual situation as to how the AIDS is prevailing among the targeted colony of the people. Insufficient funds affect the capability in sorting out for blood-examination and the treatment fee is very expensive while the sufferers are all poor folks.

According to the department concerned, up to now there are only 200 sufferers in the country who are able to afford the treatment. And the country has limited facilities that are able to provide the anti-virus treatment and so every year sees only several thousands of AIDS-sufferers being treated the country over.

By People's Daily Online

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