Beijing's Migrant workers, targeted by latest AIDS campaign
because of their susceptibility to infection, received free HIV
tests, condoms and AIDS prevention brochures at a construction site
on Thursday, the eve of the World AIDS Day.
More than 200 migrant workers stood with hesitation and
embarrassment at first, with some watching from building windows,
but they later seized all 6,000 free condoms given by Chaoyang
District Disease Prevention and Control Center, which organized the
campaign.
Doctors from the center asked the workers about transmission
channels of the disease, but most of the workers on the site had
little knowledge. They asked the doctors about AIDS symptoms and
the government's policy on treatment.
"I want to know about AIDS for the sake of my health and my
family's health," said 25-year-old Xie Lingdun from central China's
Henan Province. Other workers wanted to know
about AIDS, but did not want to take the test. "We are worried that
the test results would show up HIV positive," said 21-year old Gao
Baoliang.
Center staff took blood samples from more than 200 workers,
promising to give the results to workers in private in about two
weeks, said Li Dongliang, an official with the center.
Migrant workers accounted for 77 percent of Beijing's new 633
HIV carriers this year, statistics from the Municipal Health Bureau
show.
"Unprotected sex is a major cause of workers contracting the
disease," said Li. "Most workers visit home once a year, and some
pay prostitutes to deal with sexual deprivation in the lonely days
away from home."
An earlier survey by the Ministry of Health showed that 88
percent of migrant workers suffer from sexual deprivation to some
extent. "Among my peers, at least three out of ten go to
prostitutes," said Ma Jianhua, 27, from Emeishan city in Sichuan, adding that some take greater risks
as they do not like to use condoms.
According to Ma, a prostitute costs 50 to 150 yuan (US$ 6.4 to
19) in the area, while their daily pay ranges from 40 yuan to 200
yuan (US$ 5 to 25). "We can see at least a dozen prostitutes aged
from 25 to 40 around the construction site in the daytime, and more
will show up at night," said Ma, adding that boredom drove many men
to prostitutes.
Experts had proposed more conjugal rooms on construction sites
and paid holidays for workers to visit their wives, said Wang Hui,
a campaigner and official with the local community government. "We
will offer AIDS prevention classes and show video materials on AIDS
awareness and prevention," said Wang.
Data from the Health Ministry shows the number of officially
reported HIV/AIDS cases rose to 183,733 nationwide this year, up
nearly 30 percent from 144,089 at the end of last year.
As of October, about 185,000 migrant workers from 386
construction sites in Beijing had received AIDS prevention
education, according to the statistics from the center.
(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)