Int'l agencies help Yunnan battle HIV/AIDS

Yunnan provincial Governor Qin Guangrong (fourth from left) visits HIV carriers in a local hospital.

Former US president Bill Clinton in Yunnan. The Clinton Foundation is funding clinical treatment in the province against HIV/AIDS.

International projects have become a major force in efforts to prevent and control HIV/AIDS in Yunnan province.

Available statistics show that across the province more than 100 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been battling the disease by implementing a range of measures to help those afflicted as well as drug users.

Yunnan's first international cooperation in the field was in 1990, when the World Health Organization helped the province initiate an AIDS monitoring system.

Yunnan has since cooperated with UNICEF, the Australian Red Cross Society, the Ford Foundation and Hong Kong in testing and monitoring, public education, community-based prevention, education of youth and professional training.

International cooperation entered a new phase in 2002 when the province launched a number of projects on a greater scale, including China-Britain STD and AIDS control, projects with the US Agency for International Development, efforts in China-Australia Asian Regional Cooperation, the Global Fund, the Clinton Foundation, the US Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and other agencies.

Prevention measures were expanded from target areas to the entire province, with specific projects complementing government health routines. Since October 2004, NGOs contributed 100 million yuan to projects in 65 counties.

The cooperative projects include:

Sino-British AIDS control project: Currently the largest of its kind in the province, it covers 29 counties and cities to enhance intervention and monitoring in migrant groups, the male population and children.

China-Australia Asian Regional Cooperation against AIDS in Yunnan: The project mainly serves people who might exchange needles, part of a $50 million Australian effort in helping six nations battle the disease. In China, Yunnan province and Guangxi region are the focus, with the latest round of cooperation in Yunnan to last five years.

A total of 320,000 needles were issued and recycled.

Yunnan-Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative project: The Clinton Foundation has a three-year effort underway with Yunnan to help the designated medical institutions in the province in AIDS treatment and establish a sound system of treatment facilities, lab technical guarantees and related services. The project will last to 2010.