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Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said Tuesday he is concerned about the "fast spread" of HIV/AIDS among migrant workers. "My major concern about our situation is the migrant population because the health service towards the migrant population has yet to be improved," Chen said.China had around 211 million migrant workers in 2009, a record high, and state media say that figure could top 350 million by 2050. Migrant workers in China often are poorly educated and have limited access to health care. "We are promoting institutional reform of medical health to establish a system that delivers basic health care to all Chinese people," said Chen. "I believe this will enable us to deliver better health services, also in terms of major diseases among the migrant population."
Chen made his comments at a media briefing ahead of Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to New York City for the UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. China, said Chen, is "moving towards" that goal and has contained the rapid spread of HIV.
"On the whole in China, the spread of HIV is at a low occurrence rate, but in some parts of the country we are seeing a higher occurrence of the disease," Chen said. In 2009, the country had 740,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, he said. The main mode of transmission is unprotected sex, particularly among men who have sex with men, he added.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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