Chinese vice-premier urges unremitting efforts in HIV/AIDS fight

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has called for unremitting efforts in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in order to improve people's health and well-being.

Sun, who is also head of the AIDS working committee of the State Council, made the remarks as she visited Beijing Youan Hospital on Tuesday, which marks the 33rd World AIDS Day.

Sun stressed the need to prioritize HIV/AIDS prevention, while combining prevention with treatment, and called for adopting coordinated measures, such as publicizing related knowledge to enhance public awareness, HIV testing and treatment.

She urged the development of plans for fighting HIV/AIDS in key areas, with a view to reducing the prevalence of the disease within three to five years.

China has made notable progress in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment over the past five years, with HIV transmission through blood transfusion basically eliminated, while mother-to-child transmission has reached an all-time low, Sun said.

She added that more than 90 percent of AIDS patients have received medical attention and the overall HIV/AIDS epidemic situation remains at a low level.

Noting the new challenges in the fight against the disease, Sun underscored the importance of prevention and control at the source, expanding HIV/AIDS screening, achieving sci-tech breakthroughs in prevention and treatment, and enhancing training for community-level medical personnel.