<p>An increasing number of foreigners are receiving free medication for HIV/AIDS on the Chinese mainland, a health specialist said and warned that lack of "clear policies" on the issue could adversely affect the treatment of local population.<br /><br /></p>.<p>So far 8,366 foreign HIV/AIDS patients were reported till August this year from all over China, the National Centre for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control and Prevention said.<br /><br />Of them 200 foreigners with HIV/AIDS are receiving free antiviral therapy, it said.<br /><br />Growing international exchanges are resulting in more foreign patients arriving in China and stay longer, Wu Zunyou, director of the centre, told China Daily.<br /><br />But "we have no clear polices and Chinese nationals should always be the top priority, particularly with limited funding", he said.<br /><br />Most foreign HIV/AIDS patients are living in Yunnan, Guangdong, Shandong and Fujian provinces, as well as in Beijing, Wu said.<br /><br />Free treatment is only for Chinese citizens with case-by-case exceptions for foreigners, Zhao Yan, deputy director of the national center's AIDS treatment and care division.<br /><br />More than 60 per cent of foreigners receiving free treatment were female.<br /><br />"A great majority were women who had been living here for a long time and some even married locals and had children," she said, adding that many foreign women were trafficked over the border as brides.<br /><br />Some came already infected with HIV while some were infected by their Chinese husbands, Jia said.<br /><br />"Even without a legal permit to stay and a marriage certificate we still have to provide these people free treatment otherwise they could die and their families would be alone," she said.<br /><br />Yunnan began free treatment for foreigners in 2009.<br /><br />Since the province recorded its first HIV outbreak among drug users in 1989, authorities have reported more than 5,500 foreign sufferers, mostly people from Myanmar.<br /><br />The numbers are increasing, Jia said.<br /><br />"With a border measuring more than 4,000 km more foreigners living with HIV and AIDS will come to Yunnan for employment and business," she said.<br /><br />"Given that this trend cannot be reversed, the government should make clear its policy concerning HIV/AIDS intervention among foreigners in China, including treatment," she said.</p>
<p>An increasing number of foreigners are receiving free medication for HIV/AIDS on the Chinese mainland, a health specialist said and warned that lack of "clear policies" on the issue could adversely affect the treatment of local population.<br /><br /></p>.<p>So far 8,366 foreign HIV/AIDS patients were reported till August this year from all over China, the National Centre for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control and Prevention said.<br /><br />Of them 200 foreigners with HIV/AIDS are receiving free antiviral therapy, it said.<br /><br />Growing international exchanges are resulting in more foreign patients arriving in China and stay longer, Wu Zunyou, director of the centre, told China Daily.<br /><br />But "we have no clear polices and Chinese nationals should always be the top priority, particularly with limited funding", he said.<br /><br />Most foreign HIV/AIDS patients are living in Yunnan, Guangdong, Shandong and Fujian provinces, as well as in Beijing, Wu said.<br /><br />Free treatment is only for Chinese citizens with case-by-case exceptions for foreigners, Zhao Yan, deputy director of the national center's AIDS treatment and care division.<br /><br />More than 60 per cent of foreigners receiving free treatment were female.<br /><br />"A great majority were women who had been living here for a long time and some even married locals and had children," she said, adding that many foreign women were trafficked over the border as brides.<br /><br />Some came already infected with HIV while some were infected by their Chinese husbands, Jia said.<br /><br />"Even without a legal permit to stay and a marriage certificate we still have to provide these people free treatment otherwise they could die and their families would be alone," she said.<br /><br />Yunnan began free treatment for foreigners in 2009.<br /><br />Since the province recorded its first HIV outbreak among drug users in 1989, authorities have reported more than 5,500 foreign sufferers, mostly people from Myanmar.<br /><br />The numbers are increasing, Jia said.<br /><br />"With a border measuring more than 4,000 km more foreigners living with HIV and AIDS will come to Yunnan for employment and business," she said.<br /><br />"Given that this trend cannot be reversed, the government should make clear its policy concerning HIV/AIDS intervention among foreigners in China, including treatment," she said.</p>