China Marks World AIDS Day

Posted December 1st, 2011 at 1:20 pm (UTC-5)
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China has marked World AIDS Day by promising to increase funding to HIV prevention services, access to anti-retroviral medications, and policies to curb discrimination against those affected by the virus.

During a World AIDS Day event in Beijing Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for the international community to fully meet its commitments to achieve a world without any new HIV infections, discrimination or AIDS-related deaths.

China's Ministry of Health and UNAIDS estimate that about 780,000 people will be living with HIV/AIDS in China by the end of this year. That means about 48,000 people became infected over the past year.

China has reported that infections among men over the age of 60 have increased to nearly 9 percent of the country's total, mostly due to unprotected sex.