An international seminar on AIDS prevention in the Lancang-Mekong River valley was held on Monday in the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
More than 100 officials from the Red Cross societies of various countries as well as related experts from countries such as the United States and Switzerland attended the seminar.
Participants discussed the spread of AIDS in the region, medical developments concerning AIDS prevention, and the promotion of Red Cross societies’ role in the sector.
Statistics from the United Nations show 7 million Asian people are HIV-positive. With economic development in the Mekong River region which includes China, Myanmar, the Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, AIDS has become a potential threat to the area.
Problems such as drug taking, prostitution and unsafe blood supplies all contribute to the spread of the disease, experts said. They also held exchanges on educational cooperation in the field of AIDS prevention.
(Xinhua News Agency 07/04/2001)
