BEIJING, Dec 1 (AFP) - Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday called for "unremitting efforts" in China's fight against AIDS, admitting the country was facing a "stark situation" in tackling the epidemic.
In a message, Wen called for "still greater, substantial efforts in creating public awareness about the issue and making strenuous efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS."
While praising China's "remarkable progress" in its HIV/AIDS prevention and control work, Wen acknowledged that the country was facing a worsening crisis.
He urged government departments at all levels to "give priority" to the issue, by "utilizing all sorts of resources and conscientiously implementing all preventive and control policies and measures," Xinhua news agency said.
China for years denied AIDS was an issue and only started seriously addressing the problem in the past two years.
Even so, ignorance about AIDS remains rife, with sufferers routinely facing widespread discrimination by local police, health authorities and the public.
In an effort to bring the problem into the open, President Hu Jintao Tuesday publicly shook hands with AIDS patients and called for an end to discrimination.
Wen made a similar gesture a year ago.
China's state-run media also gave blanket coverage to the problem in the past two years during World AIDS Day on December 1, but previously had refused to report about a scandal involving poor farmers contracting the virus from selling blood in unsanitary, government-backed schemes.
China estimates it has 840,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers although international AIDS experts say the actual number is much higher.
Leading United Nations officials warned in Washington Tuesday that the number of HIV infections in countries like China, India and Russia were on the verge of exploding.
They warned it could create a crisis leading to tens of millions of new cases, threatening the stability of the world economy.
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