China has made progress in curbing the spread of HIV by
promoting methadone therapy and providing clean needles for drug
addicts, experts said.
By July 1, 2006, 101 methadone clinics had been set up with 204
more due to open by the end of the year, said Wu Zunyou, director
of the National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention.
Wu said a total of 15,678 people have received methadone
treatment since 2004 when the first clinic was established in
Gejiu, in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.
Currently, 10,754 people are taking methadone, a synthesized
narcotic widely used internationally as a drug substitute, helping
wean them away from their addiction.
Official statistics show that China has just over 1 million drug
addicts. However, experts estimate that the actual number is much
bigger, possibly as many as 10 million.
The sharing of infected syringes ranks with unprotected sex as
one of the two main causes of the spread of HIV, which 650,000
citizens now suffer from.
Just over 44 percent of the 70,000 new cases of HIV reported
last year are believed to have been infected through sharing
needles, while 43.6 percent contracted the disease through
unprotected sex.
Outbreaks of HIV/AIDS caused by drug abuse have been found
in many provinces and regions, although Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are the two
hardest hit areas.
Wang Longde, vice-minister of the Ministry of Health, warned
that the virus is currently spreading from high-risk groups such as
drug addicts and prostitutes to the general public.
He added that many prostitutes are also drug users, which raises
the chance of them passing the virus on. Aside from the methadone
clinics, 300 new needle exchange centers will open by the end of
the year. By the end of 2005, the country had 91 free needle
exchange centers, according to the Ministry of Health.
In a methadone clinic, a cup of methadone drink, which helps
addicts slake their thirst for drugs, costs just 10 yuan (US$1.2).
Replacing injected drugs with a drink encourages addicts to give up
injections, which can spread AIDS.
Those undergoing methadone replacement therapy are required to
take regular urine tests, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The results are recorded in a national data base run by police
authorities.
The Regulation on AIDS Prevention and Control, which came into
effect in March, says that governments at various levels are
duty-bound to launch drug replacement therapy programs to curb drug
abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Wu said that, according to a study of the clinics' work, only
8.8 percent of addicts who received methadone treatment for one
year took drugs again. However, of those who start the treatment
nearly 70 percent will return to using drugs.
(China Daily October 23, 2006)