According to the Ministry of Health, since the first case of AIDS in China in 1985, by the end of October 2009, a total of 319,877 cases of HIV-infected people and patients had been reported, including 102,323 cases of AIDS patients; 4,9845 deaths were reported. This year, the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, conducted an assessment of China’s AIDS epidemic in 2009. The results show that as of the end of 2009, it is estimated that about 740,000 people are currently living with HIV and AIDS (HIV/AIDS) in China, of which 105,000 are AIDS patients; it is estimated that 48,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2009.
According to the introduction, at present, China’s AIDS epidemic presents four aspects: First, the rise of the AIDS epidemic has further slowed down, and the effect of comprehensive AIDS prevention and treatment has begun to emerge; Second, sexual transmission continues to be the main transmission route, and transmission between people of the same sex, the rate of increase is obvious, which is a new situation that deserves our attention; Third, the overall national AIDS epidemic is low, and the epidemic is serious in some areas; Fourth, the national The number of people affected by AIDS has increased and the epidemic pattern has diversified.
For more than 20 years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to the prevention and treatment of AIDS, and has included the prevention and treatment of AIDS as a strategic issue related to people’s well-being, social stability and economic development in the government’s work agenda. Every year, General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visit AIDS patients on World AIDS Day, inspect AIDS prevention and treatment work and condole with AIDS prevention and treatment staff, setting an example for the whole society to actively participate in AIDS prevention and treatment work. Chinese governments at all levels have set up AIDS prevention and control committees or leading groups to clarify the responsibilities of various departments and provide organizational support for AIDS prevention and control, forming an AIDS prevention and control mechanism that is “led by the government, with each department taking responsibility and the whole society participating. A series of policies and regulations, such as the Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control, the Medium and Long-Term Plan for AIDS Prevention and Control (1998-2010), the Action Plan for the Containment and Prevention of AIDS in China (2006-2010), and the “Four Free and One Care” program, have been introduced to provide policy support for AIDS prevention and treatment. The introduction of a series of policies and regulations such as “Four Free and One Care” has provided policy guarantee for AIDS prevention and treatment work. Government funding for AIDS prevention and treatment at all levels has been increasing year by year. The central government’s funding for AIDS prevention and treatment has gradually increased from 390 million yuan in 2003 to 994 million yuan in 2008, and the local financial investment has increased from less than 100 million yuan in 2003 to 600 million yuan in 2008, providing financial guarantee for the implementation of AIDS prevention and treatment work.
Through years of efforts, the face of China’s AIDS prevention and treatment work has changed dramatically, forming a government-led, multi-sectoral collaboration and community-wide participation in the prevention and treatment work; the prevention and treatment work has transformed from hidden operation to open and transparent, from passive response to active attack, from pilot exploration to comprehensive promotion. China’s AIDS prevention and treatment work has made remarkable achievements, effectively curbing the momentum of the rapid rise of AIDS in China, and has been fully recognized by the international community.
Although China has made certain achievements in the prevention and treatment of AIDS and the epidemic is still in a low epidemic situation, China has a vast territory, a large population, and uneven economic development, and the epidemic is spreading from high-risk groups to the general population.
In the future, the Ministry of Health and other relevant departments will continue to carry out extensive, in-depth and sustained AIDS publicity and education work, and increase publicity and education in rural areas, ethnic minority areas, grassroots communities, workplaces, schools and public places. Further improve the coverage of AIDS interventions. We will integrate community drug maintenance treatment with the national drug treatment ban; increase efforts to control sexual transmission of AIDS and promote condom use; standardize STD outpatient services and improve service quality and accessibility; strengthen the construction of medical service networks at the county, township and village levels, establish a reasonable, effective and convenient service model for preventing mother-to-child transmission of AIDS, and improve the coverage of measures to prevent mother-to-child transmission of AIDS. Further implement the “four free and one care” policy. Strengthen the prevention and treatment efforts in key areas and key populations, actively mobilize and guide social forces to participate in AIDS prevention and treatment, strengthen AIDS monitoring and evaluation, and improve the quality of prevention and treatment work.