AIDS concern groups are to step up co-operation with China in an effort to stop the disease spreading on the mainland.
Chairman of the AIDS Foundation Dr Leong Che-hung will head a delegation to Beijing and hold meetings with Chinese officials and voluntary groups in May to exchange views on how to make people aware of AIDS and how to prevent its spread.
Hong Kong academics and members of concern groups will be invited to the meeting, the first of its kind.
Chinese health officials have estimated the number of HIV carriers in China to be about 100,000. The number of new HIV cases in Guangdong last year rose by 25 per cent, with 54 reports of people being infected.
About a quarter of China's 1.2 billion people lack even basic knowledge of AIDS, according to a survey last year, while two per cent have never heard of the disease.
AIDS Foundation chief executive Lin Oi-chu said the meeting would examine how Hong Kong and China could co-operate on research and organising training courses for medical staff and teachers.
