非政府组织在防艾方面将发挥更大作用

Tomorrow (Saturday) marks World Aids Day.

To that end, the Chinese government is promising to spend more money toward combating HIV/AIDS, while at the same time, promising to give more support to non-governmental organizations working in this field.

CRI's Robert Costelloe has more.

Chinese vice-Premier Li Keqiang says NGOs have become an indispensable, special force in combating HIV/AIDS in China.

Li Keqiang's comments come following a meeting with a group of NGO representatives from across the country.

He says the government will continue to support these organizations.

There are neary one-thousand Non-Government Organizations involved in battling HIV/AIDS in China.

However, because many of them aren't registered with China's ministry of Civil Affairs, they can't access government services, funds, and tax breaks.

Sun Xinhua with the Ministry of Health says the ministry and the Ministry of Civil Affairs are working on plans to help streamline the registration of NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS.

"We will also support the NGOs with funds and technology, which include training their employees, conducting peer education, and sending technical staff to collaborate with them. Some people don't want staff of government institutions to examine them, so we teach the quick examining technology to the NGO employees and ask them to do the examinations."

The ministry of health has already given out some 100-million yuan to qualified NGO's for combating HIV-AIDS this year.

The central government has invested 2.4-billion yuan in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, a 200-million yuan increase over last year.

On top of the funding, a free voluntary counseling and testing network has been established around the country.

Nearly 3-thousand counties have been equipped with AIDS screening labs and outpatient clinics.

Sun Xinhua says with the expanding coverage of the network, the mortality rate of AIDS patients "receiving treatment" has dropped.

"At present 84 percent of the HIV/AIDS infections meeting the treatment standards have received antiviral treatment. The effect of the treatment in China is among the top in developing countries. The mortality rate of children receiving treatment is close to that of developed countries."

The Ministry of Health is reporting the mortality rate of AIDS patients who are receiving treatment has been halved in recent years.

The rate of mother-to-child HIV transmissions has plunged to 7.4 percent from 34.8 percent in 2007.

Despite all the moves, more than 17-thousand AIDS-related deaths have been reported in the country from January to October, a year-on-year increase of 8.6 percent.

More than 68-thousand new HIV cases have been reported this year.

For CRI, I'm Robert Costelloe.