Baltimore Sun Compares China’s Responses to SARS, HIV/AIDS
Although the Chinese government has "virtually declared war on SARS, it continues to do little about AIDS, after concealing the extent of its spread for years," the Baltimore Sun reports. The country's government has dedicated about $12 million to HIV/AIDS programs, which is approximately 5% of the amount China has dedicated to treating SARS patients. Hu Jia, an HIV/AIDS advocate with Aizhi Action Project, a Beijing-based nongovernmental AIDS organization, said, "AIDS broke out in the very poor areas, and people there have no power." SARS has predominantly affected Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangdong province, "where the economies are the most developed and are closely connected to the world," Hu added. SARS "will embarrass the government if it spreads further," but AIDS patients "are not as lucky," according to Hu (Epstein, Baltimore Sun, 5/4). The full story is available online.
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.