President Hu Jintao made a symbolic visit to medics and Aids patients yesterday in an apparent attempt to ratchet up the fight against a raging epidemic that has killed at least 34,000 on the mainland.
The visit to Ditan Hospital, one of the top hospitals in the capital specialising in HIV/Aids treatment and research, represents a major policy shift that began in 2003. At that time, HIV/Aids was largely a taboo subject, associated with illegal blood collection and drug use.
Quoting official statistics, Xinhua reported at the weekend that the number of people living with HIV/Aids on the mainland had jumped by 50,000 from November last year to more than 260,000 at the end of September.
But the actual number of HIV infections on the mainland could be as high as 700,000, according to a projection from a joint Sino-UN assessment last year, which would mean 440,000 people living with the virus were not aware they have contracted it - a potential time bomb for further spread of the epidemic.
Mr Hu told medics at the hospital that HIV/Aids remained a burning issue facing doctors worldwide.
'To overcome it, we have to rely on the development of science and technology,' he said.
Gao Yanning , deputy director of Fudan University's HIV/Aids Research Centre, said the mainland leadership had paid great attention to the spread of Aids in recent years, but education in reproductive health should also been given priority to provide the public with adequate information for effective prevention.