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Christian Conference of Asia
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Reports: Shanghai to provide free Aids treatment for needySCMP - Wednesday, May 19, 2004 ASSOCIATED PRESS in Shanghai Updated at 5.23pm: The mainland's biggest city, will provide free or discounted Aids treatment to its poor, state media reported on Wednesday, citing alarm over the rapid spread of the disease among young adults in the city. The city will cut or abolish charges for Aids treatment for farmers and other needy patients, the Wen Hui Daily and other newspapers reported. They cited officials as saying that 195 new cases of HIV infection were confirmed last year in the city of 20 million people and that people aged 20 to 40 were the most commonly affected. China's central government in April ordered local authorities to supply free AIDS testing and treatment for the poor, but didn't say how it would be financed in less-developed areas. The standard therapy for treating Aids patients costs 30,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan (HK$28,250 to HK$47,083) a year - far beyond the means of most Chinese. Even in prosperous Shanghai, the country's business capital, the average income per person is only 14,868 yuan a year. China says 840,000 of its people are HIV-positive and 80,000 have full-blown Aids, although the true figure is believed to be far higher. Shanghai reported 911 people with HIV and 51 deaths from Aids last year. Aids in China was once limited mainly to victims of unsanitary blood-buying schemes or people infected through prostitution or intravenous drug use. But officials warn that it is now spreading from high-risk groups to the general population. The UN Aids agency says the number of infected people in China could rise to 10 million by 2020 without more aggressive prevention efforts. Aids activists have criticised the Chinese government for being slow to acknowledge the extent of the disease in the country. Details for implementing the new policies in Shanghai have yet to be worked out, the reports said. They said pregnant women will receive free HIV testing, treatment and guidance, and free tests will be provided to residents seeking them. The government is also considering providing clean syringes for drug addicts and stepping up promotion of condom use, the reports said. posted by cbs on Thursday, May 20, 2004 |
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