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UNAids visits building sites to reach migrants

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The United Nations Aids programme is taking a novel approach in its campaign to reach out to the mainland's vast number of migrant workers.

UNAids executive director Peter Piot visited a construction site in Beijing yesterday with mainland officials, delivering HIV/Aids brochures, condoms and playing cards with basic prevention tips to migrant workers.

Organisers also held a quiz to boost knowledge of the virus among the workers.

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The move marked a new approach to tackle the spread of HIV/Aids, as years of neglect has seen the migrant population emerging as a group increasingly susceptible to the disease.

Dr Piot said the central government had done an excellent job in raising awareness of HIV/Aids among the general public, and 'targeting the migrant population is one of the most effective ways to tackle the threat'.

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Official figures show there are more than 150 million migrant workers on the mainland. The number in Beijing alone is 1.4 million, involving more than 9,000 construction sites.

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