Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters newMedia - Monday November 12, 2001
Jeremy Page

The day before China opens its first national conference on AIDS and the HIV virus, Piot also urged the government to face up to mass infections through illegal blood-buying in central China which victims say the local government is trying to cover up.

A group of farmers infected with HIV through selling blood in Henan province said this weekend they were being ignored by local authorities and begged Chinese leaders for help and for justice.

"Leadership is what makes the real difference in the fight against AIDS and leadership from the top," Piot told Reuters in an interview.

"Presidents and Prime Ministers have spoken out in many countries in the world and really have made a difference," said Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

"These words can save lives and also can make sure that there is less discrimination in society and that the various sectors get the green light to go ahead full steam."

China admits it has a serious AIDS problem, but top leaders have not become personally involved in the issue and health officials complain their work is hampered by prejudice, ignorance and government neglect.

A MAJOR EPIDEMIC

The AIDS conference, organized by the Ministry of Health with U.N. support, was a sign of greater openness in the central government, but not enough was being done at the local level, Piot said.

"The AIDS situation has become really serious," he said. "China is at the verge of a major epidemic if business as usual continues."

Piot said he was particularly concerned about reports of HIV infection rates as high as 65 percent in some Henan villages which caused a national scandal in state media early this year.

Through the 1990s, farmers in Henan responded to government calls to sell blood for 40-50 yuan ($5-6) per sample to unregulated blood banks which mixed donations in a big tub, extracted plasma and pumped the residue back into donors.

Piot said blood banks had also caused mass infections in the neighboring province of Shanxi, which he visited over the weekend, and possibly other provinces.

"I think its really a priority for the country to be open about the extent of the problem," he said.

After months of silence, the government admitted in August there was an AIDS problem in Henan and said it had sent teams to investigate and open clinics.

But eight HIV carriers from Henan villages, some already dying of AIDS, said this weekend they had been given no medicine, information or advice on the disease.

They sent a petition to conference organizers blaming the spread of AIDS in Henan on local government corruption and neglect, and asking Beijing to provide treatment and education and punish those responsible.

MASS MEDIA KEY TO AIDS WORK

Piot urged the central government to use state-controlled media and mass organizations like the women's federation and youth federation to boost AIDS awareness.

And he praised Chinese film and pop stars helping to break taboos by taking part in AIDS education campaigns.

The United Nations has said China could have 10 million HIV carriers by 2010 unless it acts decisively.

Piot estimated there were already one million HIV carriers in China, but said it was hard to measure the figure accurately.

Chinese health officials put it at 600,000, but there were just 26,058 HIV cases officially registered by June this year.

"What the future will look like, whether there will be 10 million people or 50 million people infected in China, that will depend in the first place on whether the country really wakes up on a massive scale," said Piot.

"We have to go in China from the pilot, the small scale, to really covering the whole country," he said. "That's the challenge and that requires the top, top leadership."
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