Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said  Tuesday that vulnerable groups, young people in particular, should be made to understand the links between drugs and HIV/AIDS.
  
"The world can no longer afford to ignore the enormity of the HIV epidemic," said Mr. Costa to students at Peking University. "We have to talk openly to the people most likely to contract HIV/AIDS, especially young boys and girls."
  
"In China, thanks to responsible and concerned leadership, this kind of dialogue is now taking place," he said.
  
Recent UNODC statistics indicate that young people between 15 and 24 represent more than half of all new HIV infections. One of the principal ways the HIV virus is transmitted is through injecting drug use: more than five million people worldwide have been infected with HIV through using contaminated needles. The virus is also sexually transmitted, frequently from a drug user to a partner. China is estimated to have around 6 million drug users.
  
"You should be aware of the devastating implications of drug use. Drugs will destroy your life. They also propagate HIV/AIDS and destroy other people's lives," Costa said.
  
He also launched a new UNODC slogan, part of its public awareness campaign: "Think before you start... before you shoot...before you share."
  
With the goal of raising awareness about the relationship between drugs, sex and HIV, the UNODC is launching a campaign with video spots that link injecting drug use to the spread of HIV, and highlight the risk of unprotected sex.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2004)