Since the 1980s outbreak, AIDS as a highly infectious disease has impacted the humanity in an unprecedented way. The disease spreads so fast that within only twenty some years, it has reached literally every corner of the world. As of December 2004, China has as many as 8.4 million who are HIV positive, among which 80 thousand have AIDS. In Sichuan province, 60 thousand have been infected with HIV/AIDS, ranking 6th in the whole nation. With the number of infected increasing by 30%-40% each year, the province has a real HIV/AIDS crisis. In addition to the rapidly increasing number of infections, the AIDS crisis is demonstrating another highly dangerous trend, in that the disease now is spreading from high-risk populations to the general population. Without a doubt, the continuous spread of HIV/AIDS will negatively impact the economy and social welfare of the Szichuan province, and the impact will be manifest in other dimensions of the society as well. The disease of HIV/AIDS will endanger individual lives and cause family crises. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS will possibly lower the population quality, slow down or even deter the full-speed economical and societal growth of the province. The UN Secretary-General Annan once compared the AIDS epidemic to terrorism as the two major threats against the safety of population worldwide. Effective measures need to be taken in order to control the further spread of HIV/AIDS and to maintain the continuous growth of Szechuan’s economy and social security. Efforts are needed in the following domains:

1. To educate 90% or more of the general public about HIV/AIDS prevention. A recent research project by the Szechuan Academy of Social Sciences showed an increase in the general population’s knowledge about the disease, among which, however, very few showed 100% accuracy rate of HIV-related knowledge. As a result, more efforts are needed to better promote AIDS awareness in urban and rural communities with a specific focus on the level of accuracy. Certain methods are particularly effective for educating the general public, including PSAs and information columns in community centers, main streets, service centers, as well as entertainment centers.

2. To enhance risk perceptions and raise awareness of self protection. In the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, infections are often found mostly in the high-risk populations. However as soon as the disease starts to enter the general population, everyone is at risk to an victim of the epidemic either directly or non-directly. On the other hand, recent statistics show that about 95% of people surveyed did not find it necessary to be tested for HIV/AIDS, and 92% responded that it would be totally impossible for themselves or their family members to be infected. These facts point to an urgent need to eliminate the misperception of HIV/AIDS infections among high-risk populations only. Major misperceptions need to be targeted in order to enhance risk perceptions and promote protective behaviors,

3. To promote condom use among the general population. Now the general population is at risk with the continuous spread of HIV/AIDS. Male condoms have the highest efficacy for blocking HIV viruses from entering human bodies as well as preventing other STDs and Hepatitis B. Therefore it is important to promote condom use awareness and behaviors to prevent the disease to spread via sexual encounters.

4. To encourage HIV/AIDS testing and identify infections early. HIV/AIDS has a latent period as long as ten years, and many who are positive spread the disease to others while without knowing their own statuses. Efforts are needed to promote screening and testing to identify infected cases and adopt protective measures when needed. One incident is particularly worthy of focused attention. In some areas there have been incidents when patients were not notified of their HIV positive statuses after testing, because certain parties were unwilling to take on the responsibility of providing care and assistance to them. As a direct and immediate result of such irresponsible behaviors, many might have been infected because those who were positive were unaware of their conditions. Many HIV positive patients have infected their spouses, infections that could’ve been prevented only if they had taken an early testing and the preventive measures were in place.

5. Recent surveys show that 95% of surveyed did not know where to get tested for HIV/AIDS. Information of the testing facilities, their addresses and contact information, should be made to the general public as well, using PSAs and other mass media outlets like TV, Internet, radio, and newspapers.

6. To optimize data collection of HIV/AIDS statistics. The general public should have access to the statistics of HIV/AIDS infections, in order to raise awareness for individual protective behaviors and to mobilize local government efforts as well. Those who are found to hide identified infections from upper-level governments as well as the patients themselves should be made accountable for their behaviors. Local government officials’ efforts on HIV/AIDS prevention should become a part of their overall work performance assessment.

7. To dispense free condoms. Condoms can be costly, which is an issue for condom use promotion. Recent surveys show that the urban low-income population and rural population are reluctant to pay for condoms. Many choose not to use condoms because of the 1RMB cost, even among the high-risk IDUs. In order to promote condom use, the recommendation is to provide free condoms to the public. This can be financially supported by government funding or non-governmental donations or special-purpose lotteries.

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