State Radio in China to launch HIV/AIDS educational program

Jan 11 2010

China National Radio (CNR) on Jan. 16 is set to air a weekly one-hour program aimed at increasing HIV/AIDS awareness, Xinhua reports. People living with HIV will help co-host the program - "Positive Talks" - which will feature communication between hosts and the audience as well as experts on HIV/AIDS prevention and more, Yang Wenyan, deputy editor-in-chief of CNR, said Saturday. "Jointly produced by CNR and non-profit organization Marie Stopes International China, the program is expected to [reach] about 300 million people in 60 cities," according to the news service (1/9).

"'I truly believe that the program will be an important milestone in the fight against the epidemic,' said Subinay Nandy, the country director in China of the United Nations Development Program, which funds the radio program," China Daily reports (Juan, 1/11).

The radio program marks a transition in the Chinese government's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Agence France-Presse reports. The article highlights the government's efforts in recent years to educate the public about HIV/AIDS and reduce discrimination against those with the disease, including several advertisement campaigns.

"China's health ministry estimated that at the end of 2009, 740,000 people were living with HIV in the country but experts say the true figure is much higher than the official tally, which refers only to confirmed cases," the news service writes (1/10).