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 The construction of a new Asian highway may speed the already dire prediction of a growing AIDS threat to China’s general population.
According to recent research reported by the Population Research Bureau, high-risk groups in China have regular contact with so-called “bridge populations,” who could bring the virus into the general Chinese population, a possibility with horrifying consequences, given China’s billion-plus population.
The Chinese government recently identified three major high-risk groups where HIV/AIDS already was prevalent including intravenous drug users, commercial sex workers and their clients and those who have participated in unsafe blood donation programs. The report also recognized a “floating population” of some 120 million predominantly poor, rural migrants who often travel to cities for work. This population has regular contact with high-risk groups and could easily bring the virus into the general population.
Speeding the process is a construction project that would link, by highway, Laos, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand. This project, while increasing ease of commerce, also could increase the spread of HIV/AIDS.
“Where there are crowds, there will be trade, gambling, the sex trade. Some of these changes are directly related to the spread of HIV/AIDS, like the sex and drug trades,” said Dr. Wai-Ip Ho, health advisor for World Vision in China.
World Vision is working with the United Nations Development Program to provide AIDS prevention education as construction progresses. State officials from these six countries are being encouraged to allocate at least one percent of their construction budgets to awareness education.
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