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Special prisons for HIV/AIDS inmates
www.chinanews.cn 2005-11-14 09:48:23
(Source: China Daily)
GUANGZHOU, Nov. 14 - Guangdong Province is to build at least two special
prisons for HIV/AIDS inmates within the next two years.
Relevant departments are currently selecting cities for the construction
of the two special prisons, according to sources from the Guangdong
Provincial Bureau of Justice.
"Currently, we have no further details regarding the special prisons,"
said an official from the bureau yesterday.
The decision came after an increasing number of AIDS and HIV carriers
were reported in the province's prisons in recent years.
Many local deputies from the People's Congress and members of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) have also urged
government departments to build the special prisons as soon as possible
to handle the province's increasing number of criminals with HIV/AIDS.
Wang Weiyang, a member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPPCC
is such an advocate. In March, Wang submitted a proposal urging for the
speedy construction of special prisons and better management of such
criminals.
Statistics from the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Justice revealed that
the province has reported about 1,000 AIDS and HIV virus carrier cases in
prisons.
Guangdong's first inmate with the AIDS virus was identified in May 2000.
Currently, 20 AIDS patients and 518 HIV carriers are serving their jail
terms in Guangdong's prisons.
Since the fatal virus is able to spread quickly in such an environment,
Wang believes that the number of AIDS-carrying inmates would be sure to
increase, posing further problems for the management of prisons in the
province.
Statistics from Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Health indicated
that the number of AIDS patients in Guangdong reached 5,051 by the end of
last year.
However, experts predicted that the figure was in fact nearer to 40,000
including both AIDS and HIV carriers and this number could grow in the
future.
Experts forecast that the prosperous province could have around 500,000
HIV carriers and AIDS patients by the end of 2010.
Currently, Guangdong has the fifth largest population of AIDS patients
and HIV carriers in China.
Yunnan Province in Southwest China is the worst HIV/AIDS-hit region,
followed by Henan Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Guangdong now has a total of 145 hospitals designated to the treatment of
HIV and AIDS.
In June, the province started offering free AIDS and HIV tests to its
residents.
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