china Says It Wants to Fight AIDS Stigma
Chinese health authorities say they are going to work hard to end the stigmatization of AIDS and the discrimination against people with the disease, but activists are sceptical.
The government said in a statement that was devoid of specifics that it wanted to step up education on AIDS-prevention and it planned to increase the distribution of condoms to high-risk groups. However, activists are not optimistic that their efforts will get very far, since the discrimination has deep roots.
Hospitals have denied treatment to patients with the disease, and children with AIDS have been barred from entering schools.
Even though Chinese leaders have banned discriminating against people with AIDS, they regularly crack down on activists and patients asking for more rights.
In honour of World AIDS Day, the Health Ministry and UNAIDS unveiled a large AIDS awareness ribbon displayed at the Bird’s Nest Stadium. It is estimated that 700000 people in China are living with HIV, and there are 85000 full-blown cases.