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Government Steps up AIDS Education Efforts
When Beijing reported the nation's first AIDS case on an Argentine-American who came to China on tour 15 years ago, many nurses in Union Hospital where the patient was hospitalized were terrified.
They had an unprecedented dreadful feeling for the disease - one touch and you are doomed. Many were scared to take care of the American and some simply refused.
Today, with more than 600 AIDS cases reported across the nation, hospitals, governmental agencies and health organizations are busy giving people basic AIDS information.
Beijing's Ditan Hospital's AIDS Patients Club, set up years ago, is a model example.
Originally established as a place for regular exchanges of information between HIV/AIDS patients, the club also holds classes to teach them how to take care of themselves.
However, the classes attract many people from all walks of life, including journalists, volunteers and the relatives and friends of patients.
In Yunnan Province, the government-sponsored AIDS Prevention and Control Center set up an around-the-clock hotline to answer questions about HIV and AIDS. The center also administers free HIV/AIDS tests.
Center deputy director Cheng He said the government has realized the importance of AIDS prevention and is providing more and more help for patients.
"We have started to provide patients with suggestions to release their physical and psychological stress," she said.
The center has also set up a strict system to protect patients' privacy, she added.
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