Woman florists in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, will receive AIDS prevention education thanks to a UNESCO program launched Tuesday.

Yunnan is one of the provinces in China most affected by AIDS.  According to official statistics, the number of AIDS/HIV cases in Yunnan topped 30,000 at the end of 2005.

The Dounan Flower Market is located in Chenggong, in Kunming City.  It is Asia's biggest flower market and is famed for its magnificent varieties of flower.

According to Fang Jing, a UNESCO program staff member, many of the nearly 13,000 florists in the Kunming market are transient workers.

A survey showed that 90 percent of the female florists, especially young women from other parts of China, lack knowledge of AIDS prevention measures, said Fang.

The program, co-initiated by UNESCO and China's prestigious Qinghua University, will provide peer education and seminars to 300 selected women florists.

The program will increase their awareness of AIDS prevention and control, and lower their susceptibility to venereal disease and AIDS, according to Fang.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2006)