UN willing to join China in fighting AIDS: Annan
( 2002-10-16 09:11 ) (8 )

The United Nations is willing to join China in the battle against AIDS, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday in Beijing.

He said China was facing both opportunities and challenges in preventing the spread of AIDS.

The prevention and cure of AIDS needed the involvement of the whole of society, he said, and AIDS was not only a health problem,but a problem relating to development and security.

Annan said China had made great progress in educating common people about AIDS since 1999, with contributions from both government and non-governmental organizations.

He pointed to the project carried out by the Red Cross Society of China in China's southwest Yunnan Province as a good example.

Annan expressed his support for China's proposal for a global fund to fight tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.

Representatives from international organizations like the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Ford Foundation and Chinese organizations such as the AIDS Research Foundation of China and Hongshulin, an association of AIDS patients, attended the discussion and delivered speeches.

According to the Ministry of Health, in the first half of the year, the number of people with HIV reported in China increased 16.7 percent compared with the same period last year. Although the rate has been slowed down, the number of HIV carriers in China hasso far reached one million.