The Chinese Ministry of Health on Wednesday launched an HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment project with US-based Merck Sharp & Dohme in Beijing, the largest Chinese government and private company partnership to fight the disease.
  
The company will spend US$30 million on the project in the next five years, starting in Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, southwest China, in autumn of this year, according to Judy Lewent, executive vice president of the company.
  
The ministry will provide medical staff and equipment for the project. "The program sets a good example for cooperation between the government and companies, which will leave positive effect in mobilizing the whole society to fight against HIV/AIDS," said Wang Longde, vice minister of health.
  
Liangshan is a high prevalence area of HIV/AIDS, where sharing needles among drug addicts is the main cause of HIV/AIDS transmission, he said.
  
The goals of the project are to effectively prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, to care for AIDS victims and to improve the HIV/AIDS situation in China, they said.
  
The project involves a series of supplement measures for fighting HIV/AIDS, including promotion of education and publicity, training health workers, teaching living skills to HIV carriers and AIDS patients and providing condoms and clean drug injectors to high-risk groups.
  
In a meeting with Judy Lewent here Wednesday, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi said besides the government's endeavors, China also encourages social efforts and resources to pool in the HIV/AIDS prevention.
  
According to official government estimates, China now has about 840,000 HIV carriers, including 80,000 AIDS patients. It is estimated that China will have had 10 million HIV carriers by 2010.
  
Merck Sharp & Dohme has been cooperating with several AIDS-affected countries such as Botswana and Romania to fight HIV/AIDS, and has developed drugs for treating the disease, which have been provided to about 180,000 patients in 68 developing countries, according to the company.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)