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YUNNAN: China has kick-started its first AIDS prevention programme targeted at migrant workers who are told they have to wear more than a hard hat to stay safe after work.
Mining health and safety trainer Chang Xudong has been conducting workshops on HIV awareness for workers from a tin mine in Ge Jiu county, south of Yunnan province, since July.
"I didn't know much about HIV and AIDS before and I thought it was a terrible disease. But now, with a better understanding, I can educate the workers on how to protect themselves from it.
"They were initially very shy and few turned up for the workshop. But now, they are more at ease talking about the issue," said Chang.
It takes at least five hours to drive from provincial capital Kunming and another two-hour bumpy ride up the mountain to reach this group of workers.
With at least 1,000 workers working at the tin mine in Ge Jiu county, officials have taken pains to carry the message to far-flung and hard-reach areas to ensure that these workers are not forgotten, and that they are able to carry on with a healthy and safe lifestyle.
China's Health Ministry said the total number of confirmed HIV-carriers and AIDS patients in the country has reached 264,000. But experts have estimated that there could be as many as 700,000 carriers and patients.
Constance Thomas, director of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Office for China and Mongolia, said: "The biggest challenge is that China is such a big country. It's challenging to ensure that the programme is executed on the ground from the grassroots and to all levels."
For a start, China has worked with the ILO to train over 1,000 officials and inspectors in three provinces to develop HIV and AIDS prevention programmes. They are also tasked to enforce policies to protect the rights of HIV-infected employees.
- CNA/so
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