A total of 125 teen ambassadors were named on Saturday as part of an ongoing HIV prevention campaign targeted at the nation's more than 100 million young people.

 

The ambassadors were chosen via an online screening and appraisal process set up by the organizer of the campaign, the China Center for Disease Control (China CDC).

 

They will help raise HIV/AIDS awareness among their peers by lecturing and distributing information in schools and public places like squares, restaurants and construction sites.

 

"We are trying to reach the children and young people who will determine the future course of the HIV/AIDS pandemic," said Xu Wenqing, a project manager with UNICEF, which donated $150,000 to the campaign this year.

 

Young people are particularly vulnerable to HIV, with 15- to 24-year-olds accounting for 50 percent of new cases and 5,000 to 6,000 young people infected with the virus every day - most of them in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.

 

"In China, the disease is spreading from the high-risk group to the general public - and young people are one of the most vulnerable groups," said An Jiaao, director of the National Institute of Health Education under the China CDC.

 

A recent China CDC survey found that teenagers are having sex at an earlier age - and 40 percent don't use protection the first time they have sex.

 

"Worse, they know little about HIV/AIDS, let alone preventative measures," An told China Daily. "Our ambassadors will help pass information to their peers and family members."

 

The campaign began last year. The first 108 ambassadors gave information to prevent HIV/AIDS and stamp out discrimination to an estimated 50 million of their peers, according to the China CDC.

 

(China Daily August 20, 2007)