President Hu Jintao called for spreading AIDS prevention knowledge to the public and helping each AIDS patient, during his visit to a Beijing hospital on Monday, the World AIDS Day.

It was the third time in five years that Hu inspected AIDS prevention work by meeting medical staff, researchers and patients.

President Hu Jintao called on Monday for spreading AIDS prevention knowledge to the public and helping each AIDS patient, during his visit to a hospital in Beijin on World AIDS Day.

Hu's hand-to-hand contact with HIV/AIDS patients is intended to help remove the social stigma of AIDS in China. The widely reported, high-profile event showcased the government's resolve to tackle the growing AIDS problem in China.

Wearing a crimson ribbon, Hu shook hands with two women who have been infected by HIV and asked questions about their health and living conditions at Ditan Hospital's Red Ribbon Center.

The center provides HIV-infected persons with services such as psychological counseling, health education and assistance in AIDS-related legal affairs.

One woman, Xiao Zheng, 28, told Hu that she was found to be infected last December when she was pregnant. With the hospital's help, she got free medication to prevent transmission to her child. Her daughter, now six months old, was in sound health.

The other woman, who used the pseudonym Xiao Xia, later told Xinhua that Hu's visit gave her warmth and encouragement.

A joint investigation by Chinese health officials, a UN agency and the World Health Organization found that there were about 700,000 Chinese living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2007, 85,000 of whom were AIDS patients.

In the infectious disease center of the hospital, which is China's clinical pharmacology base for HIV/AIDS and offers free AIDS control service, Hu examined the facilities and spoke with researchers about everything from their equipment to the use of their work.

Hu spoke highly of the center's achievements in the research of anti-viral vaccines and new medicines, stressing that science and technology must be relied on to combat the disease.

During Monday's visit, Hu told Party organs and governments at all levels to "provide each citizen with AIDS control and prevention knowledge and offer assistance to each patient in real actions."

Also on Monday, an official with the Health Ministry, Wang Weizhen, a deputy division chief with the disease control bureau, warned that the AIDS epidemic was still increasing among high-risk groups and regions.

A report released by the ministry on Sunday estimated that 440,000 HIV carriers are still unaware of their infections, meaning the potential for an increase in the epidemic.

"We have made obvious improvements in the AIDS control and prevention campaign, but the situation remains arduous and we should spare no efforts in the work," Hu said.

President Hu Jintao called on Monday for spreading AIDS prevention knowledge to the public and helping each AIDS patient, during his visit to a hospital in Beijing on World AIDS Day.

According to the Health Ministry, about 40 percent of intravenous drug users still share needles, while 60 percent of sex workers don't always use condoms.

AIDS is believed to have been introduced to China in 1982. Three years later, the government announced the first death from the disease.

Hu stressed China's policy of "four frees, one care," which was adopted in 2003.

The four frees are free HIV testing; free counseling and treatment for carriers in rural regions; free medication for all pregnant HIV carriers, and free education for AIDS orphans. The "care" is for impoverished AIDS patients and the elimination of AIDS-related discrimination.

As an effective method to identify HIV carriers, the policy persuaded more than 420,000 people to take a test in the first nine months of this year, with about 4,600 confirmed positive results.

According to the ministry, as of September, China had established nearly 6,000 medical stations that provide free consultations and tests for people who might be infected.

Also by the end of September, medical institutions had treated more than 54,000 AIDS patients, the country's traditional medical treatment for AIDS had been adopted in 15 provinces and more than 90 percent of the AIDS orphans had been helped to continue their studies.

Just ahead of World AIDS Day, Premier Wen Jiabao visited people living with HIV/AIDS and thanked workers dealing with the disease in the eastern Anhui Province over the weekend. He said anti-viral medication should be listed in the country's basic medicine catalogue.

China's top official move was in line with the theme of this year's AIDS Day: "Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise."

Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, has previously said: "China is making enormous progress in combating HIV/AIDS and has fully recognized the hazard of the disease, and the government is becoming more transparent in publicizing relevant information."

(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2008)