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It is time for China to make law on the control and prevention
of AIDS, otherwise the country would lose the best opportunity to
bring the deadly disease under control, said NPC deputy Shi Zuolin
Wednesday at the current annual session of the National People's
Congress (NPC).
The current law, rules and regulations concerning the prevention
and control of AIDS enacted by the central and local authorities
have fallen short of the requirements of the new situation and some
regulations are in fact conflicting with one another, thus making
it unfavorable for controlling AIDS, said Shi, who is deputy
director of the Fujian Provincial Hospital.
The current intervention in the behavior of high-risk groups is
mainly carried out by health workers with the tacit support of the
police, lacking the support of law, Shi noted.
According to the latest study jointly conducted by the Ministry
of Health and a UN expert team, there are about 840,000 HIV
carriers in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of
China.
It is quite complicated to make such a law, said Zhang Kong,
vice president of the China VD and HIV/AIDS Control Association.
"We have to find a balance between the protection of right of
person and the protection of public health," Zhang noted.
While striking hard at those deliberately spread AIDS, he added,
it is necessary to protect the basic human rights of AIDS patients,
such as the right to health, medical treatment, residence,
employment, education, privacy, marriage and travel.
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(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2004)
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