As many as 10,000 Chinese children may be HIV-positive, reports Reuters, with many of those going without specialty care or treatment. While China guarantees free AIDS treatment, a combination of prohibitive costs associated with complications from the disease, distance from a hospital, and a continued emphasis on four front-line drugs (to which some people are resistant), has deterred many patients from seeking treatment. More patients have gained access to care since 2003, when the Chinese government launched China CARES (China Comprehensive AIDS Response), a community-based HIV treatment and prevention program. According to AVERT, an international AIDS charity, the WHO estimated in 2007 that China was supplying 19% of those in need of treatment with antiretroviral therapy. Although the treatment itself is free, patients often have to pay for associated clinical tests and other expenses related to healthcare. In 2004, the government also launched a national program with the goal of actively testing certain high-risk groups, including intravenous drug users and prostitutes. In the Yunnan province, a hub for drug trafficking, 3.2% of the individuals tested were found to be HIV-positive.
Despite China’s recently implemented HIV prevention and treatment efforts, the country has a long history of discrimination against HIV-positive individuals. The same Reuters article reported that many people “have been turned away from hospitals and schools that fear contagion from AIDS patients.” Although the government has attempted to incorporate mass HIV/AIDS education campaigns into local communities, AVERT notes that a lack of qualified teachers for HIV/AIDS prevention education (especially in rural areas) and lack of HIV/AIDS education material in minority languages may be hindering efforts.
More links below the fold. China Pediatric AIDS report