Vice Minster of Health Wang Longde has stated that at present China’s AIDS prevention and control work is in a very serious condition, with insufficient understanding of HIV/AIDS among both the public and government leaders and insufficient cooperation between different sectors of society.

On the fifth of this month, at the third meeting of the MOH AIDS Expert Consultants committee, he said that the main difficulties and problems presently facing China’s AIDS control work are as follows:

- the real size of the epidemic is not clear, and there is serious concealment of the epidemic;
- some local authorities are not paying sufficient attention to AIDS control work, there is unclear responsibility and weak leadership, and policies are not implemented;
- the risk factors that cause the spread of HIV/AIDS have not been effectively controlled;
- [government] financial contributions are still not sufficient
- the health system, treatment, testing, epidemic control, and other departments are not yet cooperating in a strategic manner, and the mechanism for interdepartmental cooperation needs to be improved.

Wang Longde requested that the National Expert and technical experts make suggestions and criticisms about the national AIDS control plan, policy, or technical guidelines and standards. He requested that they actively join the work for behavioral interventions, education, treatment and care, testing and training, information and technical exchange and international cooperation.

The third Ministry of Health AIDS Expert Consultant Committee was formed yesterday. The meeting was chaired by Dai Zhicheng, director of the China STI/AIDS Association. Professor Zeng Yi from the China CDC, and Dr. Wang Aixia from Beijing’s Xiehe Hospital were advisors to the meeting.