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HIV / AIDS
| As China, somewhat belatedly, takes the HIV / AIDS threat
seriously, there are more and more stories and much more information
becoming available. So, they will appear on this page. Other health
matters are in the health
section.
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Guangxi and Liuzhou HIV/AIDS statistics released
Liuzhou is estimated to have 4,323 HIV carriers (again probably much higher). Most HIV transmission is through intravenous drug use, but is also spreading through prostitution and unsafe homosexual acts. According to Shanghai Daily, the United Nations Population Fund and the (Chinese) State Population and Family Planning Commission are sponsoring a "100% condom usage" program in all 'entertainment venues' in Liuzhou. 28th November 2006 |
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Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment of AIDS starts in
Liuzhou "The traditional Chinese medicine treatment of AIDS project, jointly developed by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Department of Health of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was officially launched in a hospital designated for AIDS treatment in Liuzhou recently. from People's Daily Online 15th July 2005 |
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HIV/AIDS - Drug Abuse in Liuzhou
According to the article, "...Liuzhou has, since the 1980s, become a passage for narcotics trafficking from the notorious Golden Triangle. The city has a population of 3.64 million, and now has more than 9,000 drug addicts on police record. About 21 per cent of them test positive for HIV." These figures are somewhat at odds with those given in December in the article mentioned below. The article also discusses HIV rates among sex workers in the city. "Since 2000, the sexually transmitted HIV infection rate has grown from 0.5 per cent to around 9.5 per cent. For women engaged in the illegal sex business, the figure is 1.5 per cent. According to a 2002 survey, the city had about 5,000 women engaged." If anyone can explain this, I'd be more than grateful. 9.5% of what. 1.5% of what? 5,000 women are engaged? (presumably as sex workers). Click on the China Daily logo for the full story. 23rd February 2005 |
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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
15th December 2004 |
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Liuzhou has received ¥30,850, of which 82.5% is to used directly on the needle exchange program. The newspaper reports that there are 4,900 drug users in the city, 99% of whom are heroin users. They hoped that the scheme would reach 65% of these people, 46% of whom share needles. (They give no indication as to where these figures come from. Xinhua (see below) mentions only 3,000 registered addicts in Guangxi) On the 30th November, the same newspaper is reporting that only one man has used the service in the first week. Staff are putting on a brave face and saying that people don't yet know about the scheme, but the newspaper also mentions that most drug users wish to remain anonymous and are unlikely to come forward.
This sudden barrage of AIDS activity, while extremely welcome, is all in aid (no pun intended) of World AIDS day, 1st December. The national press and television has been full of pictures of President Hu shaking hands with AIDS patients in Beijing. Well, they said he was an AIDS patient. Who knows? This contrasts enormously with the situation only a year or two ago, when the subject was rarely mentioned and if so, was a foreign problem. However, they still have a long way to go! There is yet another Xinhua story here in which they are unusually frank about the number of HIV carriers in China. They actually admit that the official estimate is way too low. updated 1st December 2004
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Guangxi in HIV / AIDS Top Three
For a report on the AIDS crisis in China, click here. Should you need to know, condoms (including Durex) are widely available. Jia Yong Supermarket stock them on the second floor near the top of the escalators. Note that China's State Family Planning Commission revealed last year that Chinese men buy approximately three condoms per year and 30 to 40 percent of these condoms are defective. 18th October 2003 |