Abstract

PIP: In China, four ministries are working jointly to draft a new national HIV/AIDS prevention plan that sets the following goals for the year 2000: 1) ending transmission through blood plasma, 2) creating a national AIDS control network, and 3) limiting the increase in cases of sexually transmitted diseases to less than 15%/year. The joint program reflects China's new understanding of the threat of HIV/AIDS and will include public information and education campaigns. By November 1997, China had 8303 official reported cases of HIV infection (mostly caused by intravenous drug use) spread through all but one province. The official media, however, admit that 150,000-200,000 people were infected with HIV by the end of 1996. China is seeking to keep the number of infected people below 1.5 million by 2010, but experts note that the country is still in an early pre-pandemic phase and warn that this figure could turn out to be as high as 10 million.