The number of new HIV/AIDS cases in China has risen by about 13 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday, two days after Vice Premier Li Keqiang met with AIDS activists and vowed to give grass-roots organizations greater support in fighting the disease.
The ministry said that 34,157 new cases of AIDS were reported in China in the first 10 months this year, up by 12.7 percent from the same period last year.
Sexual transmission has become the primary vector, accounting for about 85 percent of new cases. Cases from men having sex with men registered a sharp increase, rising from 15 to 21 percent of all sexually transmitted cases, said the MOH.
According to a report by the China News Service on Wednesday, Vice Premier Li held a meeting on Monday at the MOH with 13 AIDS patients and representatives from nongovernmental organizations across the country, saying the government would let them play a more active role in battling the disease.
"You have a greater understanding of what sufferers want ... the government will continue to offer support and pay even greater attention to and listen more closely to the voices of civil society groups and you will be given greater space to play your role," Li was quoted as saying.
A CCTV report also showed pictures of Li shaking hands with sufferers, in a country where discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is rampant, even in the health-care community.
Li made a phone call to the Ministry of Health last week after reading media reports about an AIDS patient being repeatedly refused treatment for lung cancer, urging the health authorities to make sure AIDS patients enjoy equal access to medical services.
Li also attended a meeting Monday with ministers and health officials from across the country to discuss plans to curb the rising epidemic.
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