A lecture was held recently to educate government officials from 14 cities in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region about AIDS. It is hoped that this would help the local officials do a better job in AIDS control.

This is the first time that local Guangxi officials have AIDS lectures, said Tan Mingjie, deputy head of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Health Bureau.

The move is aimed at improving local officials' awareness of how to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading, as well as publicizing state policies on AIDS prevention and control among the general public.

By the end of last year, Guangxi had reported 20,604 HIV carriers, ranking the third among China's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, according to the regional health bureau figures.

Last year, Guangxi spent more than 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million) allocated by the state and eight million yuan earmarked by the regional government to treat HIV carriers and prevent and control the spread of AIDS.

Guangxi has set up 22 state-level and 28 regional-level stations for HIV/AIDS monitoring and testing.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2006)