AIDS prevention programs on the mainland may face problems in seeking funds next year due to the financial turmoil, said noted AIDS scientist David Ho Da-i in Hong Kong yesterday.

Ho, director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in the USA, has pioneered treating AIDS patients with "cocktails" of drugs in an early stage.

He has been helping the mainland through the China AIDS Initiative since 2003, which is coordinated by the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center.

Ho will receive an honorary degree today from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) together with former US president Bill Clinton for their contributions to AIDS prevention work.

Ho said the financial downturn could affect the privately-funded prevention and education work on the mainland where Hong Kong people have made the major donations.

One of the prevention programs, which is supported by Clinton Foundation and the Bureau of Health, Yunnan, is aimed at preventing mother-to-child transmission in Yunnan province over the past three years.

HIV transmission rate from mother to child has been lowered from 30 to 40 percent to 1 to 2 percent since the program was introduced.

He, however, expressed worries over the private donations next year under the current economic downturn.

"We can only expand the program with more donation," he said.

However, he noted that AIDS research in the US will not be affected by the economy because funding is mostly supported by the US government.

He also lauded the Chinese government for its sincere efforts in combating AIDS for the past few years.

For example, the visit of President Hu Jintao to AIDS patients in Beijing and premier Wen Jiabao's visit to AIDS orphans on World AIDS Day show the Chinese government's strong commitment to the cause, he said.

Currently close to 60 million people are infected with AIDS, with 2.7 million new cases each year.

Ho noted that "there are still many years" before a vaccine could be developed for the incurable disease.

The main reasons for the lack of progress in this field are the changing nature of the virus and its protective shield that does not allow antibodies to attach to it, he explained.

While scientists continue to work hard to develop the vaccine, he said, AIDS awareness education is of paramount importance.

(HK Edition 12/04/2008 page1)