Responsibilities and Roles of the Government in AIDS
Prevention and Treatment
Zhang MingJie
Right to Health and Government's Obligations
1) The Confirmation of the Right to Health by International Human Rights
Document
The most basic hope of people is to live and live healthily, and the right to health is
one of the fundamental rights of people. Article 25 of International Declaration of Human
Rights stipulates that ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing
and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event
of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood
in circumstances beyond his control. ’Article 12 of International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights has made more clear regulations on the right to health that
‘right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health.
’ In addition, the right to health is also provided in Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
and Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
Here, it must be clarified that the right to health is not a right of obtaining health, just
as the right to life is not a right of obtaining the eternal life. In view of its nature, The
right to health can be divided into right of being treated and right of being prevented
from disease. In view of its content, the right to health can be divided into right of
obtaining health care and right of obtaining basic precondition of health needs. The
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right of obtaining health care includes health care of mother and baby, immunity to
main infectious diseases, proper treatment of normal diseases, and obtaining basic
medicines. The right of obtaining basic precondition of health needs includes the right
of obtaining education about health, ways of preventing and controlling diseases, the
right to obtaining proper food and nutrition, and the right for enjoying safety water
and basic sanitary equipment.
Any right is not independent. The right to health is closely linked with the right to life,
the right to work, the right to education, children’s right, women's right, right of not
being discriminated, etc. The right to health is of significant importance to the
realization of some economic, social and cultural rights, citizen’s right and political
right.
2) Government's obligations
The citizen's right always corresponds to responsibility and obligation of the country.
Generally, Government’s obligation for the right to health has three varieties, namely
respect, protection of the right to health and promote its realization. The obligation to
respect the right to health corresponds to the passive right, and the obligation to
protect and promote its realization corresponds to the positive right. Government
bears the same three kinds of obligations to the right to health. The obligation to
respect means the following: the country has the obligation to respect the fair access
to available health services, shall not hinder individual or group from enjoying the
available services, has the obligation to prevent people’s health from being infringed
by the third party through legislation and other measures. The obligation to protect the
right to health means the following: the country has the obligation to guarantee that
people enjoy the chances of health services provided by the third party fairly and to
prevent people’s health from being infringed by the third party by using legislation
and other measures. The obligation to realize the right to health includes the
obligation to implement national health policies, to offer essential health services, and
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to create the condition to make individuals have enough chance to have access to the
health services.
The Government’s Responsibility in AIDS Prevention and Treatment
1) The Impact of AIDS on the Health, Economy and Society
The threat to human health mainly comes from the diseases, especially infectious
diseases. In the more than 20 years since the first AIDS case was found in USA in
1981, AIDS has already become one of the main infectious diseases that endanger the
human health. AIDS refers to the acquired immune deficiency, which is a disease has
no effective cure at present and has a high death rate. The United Nations AIDS
preventing and curing organization issued a report in Geneva in 2004, saying that
5,500,000 people are infected with AIDS last year, making the number of person who
carries AIDS virus in the whole world and patient hit 34,300,000. The report points
out that most patients will die within the following ten years, unless the miracle
happens. Since AIDS was found, 18,800,000 people have died of this hopeless disease
already, among them the death toll of last year is 2,800,000. The death rate of baby,
children and mother is increased, making a lot of people die too early.
AIDS is not only a serious public health problem, but also a social concern. The wide
spreading of AIDS has caused calamitous influence to the human society and
economy. AIDS causes reduction of personal income and huge medical expenses,
brings troubles to families and social concerns such as supporting of elderly person of
no family and raising of orphans. The increasing of the number of AIDS patients has
consumed a large number of hygiene resources, and brought the unprecedented
pressure to hygiene departments of various countries. AIDS has widened the gap
between the poor and the rich, and has also caused problems such as discrimination of
AIDS patients, unemployment, etc..
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2) The Government’s Responsibility and Role in AIDS Prevention and Treatment
AIDS has already constituted serious threat to the mankind's health, stability and
development of the society. So, it is of great significance for the government to fulfill
the responsibility of preventing and curing AIDS actively for ensuring health right.
Government shoulders the obligation to respect, protect and realize health right, so
does it to the preventing and curing of AIDS.
Firstly, the government shall respect the fact that people has the right to have access to
services such as AIDS treatment and curing fairly, and shall not hinder any individual
or group from getting the available services of treating and preventing AIDS.
Secondly, the government shall, by using legislation and other measures, guarantee
that people can fairly enjoy the services of AIDS preventing and curing offered by the
third party, and prevent people from suffering infringement related to AIDS by the
third party.
Thirdly, the national policy of preventing and curing AIDS shall be observed, and
adequate government finance shall be used for the prevention and cure of AIDS, and
conditions shall be created so as to make people obtain enough prevention and cure of
AIDS.
(3) The Right Related to AIDS Prevention and Treatment
The right issues related to the AIDS prevention and treatment includes the following:
1, The protection of legal rights and interests of AIDS patients and HIV carriers,
including AIDS patients’ accessibility to treatment services, fighting against social
discrimination ,such as protection of right to fair work and the right to education, the
right to privacy and other rights and interests, and the right of obtaining social
assistance.
2, Rational restriction on the rights of AIDS patients or HIV carriers
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3, Protection of the legitimate rights and interests of the relatives of AIDS patients and
HIV carriers, including the help for AIDS orphans.
4, The rights and interests of the public to avoid HIV infection. For example, the
public shall get certain education on prevention and cure of AIDS.
The Progress and Countermeasures of Chinese Government for AIDS Prevention
and Treatment
(1) The Epidemic Situation of AIDS in China
China found the first HIV-positive in 1985, and there were about 840,000
HIV-positives now in the whole country in 2003, about 80,000 patients of AIDS
among them. According to the international standard, AIDS in China is still in low
prevailing period at present. But because China has a large population, the absolute
number of the HIV infected people is very large, so the situation is serious for China
to prevent and cure AIDS.
The prevailing situation of AIDS has the following four characteristics at present in
China:
1, AIDS prevailing involves in extensive range, the low prevailing in the whole
country and high prevailing in regional area and special group of AIDS coexist, and
the epidemic situation is worsening obviously.
2, It is facing the peak of AIDS caused death or AIDS attacked death.
3, The epidemic situation spreads from high-risk group to the general group.
4, The danger of AIDS prevailing exists extensively.
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(2) Progress Made by the Chinese Government in the AIDS Prevention and Treatment
For many years, in order to control the spread of AIDS epidemic situation, lower the
unfavorable influence brought by AIDS, Chinese Government has being insisting on
the principle of " putting prevention first, taking propagating and education as the
main method, combining preventing and curing, treating both principal and secondary
aspect of disease, comprehensive administration ", launched the prevention and cure
of AIDS actively, and has produced the positive result.
The work that China prevents and cures AIDS can roughly be divided into the
following several respects:
A series of laws and regulations and policies are made.
1, In recent years, China has made a series of laws and regulations and rules relating
to the AIDS prevention and treatment, etc., including Law for Prevention and Treatment
of Infectious Diseases of the People's Republic of China (1989), the Blood Donation Law of the
People's Republic of China"(1997), Regulations for AIDS Monitoring and Management
(1987),
National Norms for AIDS Monitoring, Suggestions on Strengthening Prevention and Control of
AIDS. Especially in 2002, the Middle-Term and Long-Term Plan for Prevention and Control
of AIDS in China （1998-1010）and the Action Plan on AIDS Control and Prevention in
China（2001-2005）were made.
2, The AIDS prevention and control organizations and monitoring system were
established. The central authorities set up the system " the State Council Coordination
Meeting on AIDS Prevention and Treatment” in 1996, and relevant central
departments take coordination meeting periodically on the prevention and cure of
AIDS. In 2002, the Coordination Meeting Office of the State Council for AIDS and
Venereal Disease Prevention and Treatment was set up. In February of 2004, the
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national AIDS prevention and treatment committee was established. The local
provincial governments established the coordination meeting system for AIDS
prevention and cure leaded by the local government and attended by relevant
departments. In the area with prevailing and serious AIDS, the local government sets
up the essential department or the full-time staff for the prevention and control of
AIDS.
The AIDS information networks and national comprehensive testing system have
been set up.
3, The comprehensive treatment and caring for AIDS patients is provided. Since 2000,
Chinese Ministry of Public Health has set up the comprehensive demonstration area
of AIDS in the selected areas where the epidemic situation is comparatively serious
nationwide, and launched the working such as treatment relying mainly on domestic
anti-virus medicines, care, health education, intervention with high risk group,
blocking mother-to-baby transmission, etc.. 51 demonstration areas have been set up
till now.
The emergency medical services for AIDS patients has been strengthened. In order to
solve the problem of anti-HIV medicines that are badly needed in the anti AIDS work
at present, while negotiating actively with foreign patentee of anti-HIV medicines, the
relevant national departments make great efforts to the domesticization process of
anti-HIV medicines. At present, all the medicines used to fight against AIDS are
domestically made, and the annual treatment cost for each patient is reduced to 3000
yuan.
4, AIDS propagation and education is widely carried out. Various propaganda
activities are carried out around the “World AIDS Day” of December 1 every year,
leading by the Health Section. The educational activities are launched with emphasis
on students, migration population, high risk group, etc.. All relevant ministries and
commissions of the State Council conducted related training on AIDS prevention and
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treatment.
5, The input for prevention and cure of AIDS has increased obviously. As to the input
cost, it relies mainly on governmental input, with multi-channel fund collection being
at side. The annual input from 1998 to 2000 is 15 million yuan, and that from 2001 to
2003 amounts to 100 million yuan.
6, international cooperation is launched actively to gain fund and technology support
for the AIDS prevention and cure.
Existing Problems and Strategies
Problems:
1, The truth of epidemic situation of AIDS is still not very clear, and the conceals of
epidemic situation is serious.
2, Some areas and departments don’t pay enough attention to AIDS prevention and
cure, and they are not clear about their duty, and the leading is not effective and the
measures are not implemented.
3, The propagation and education of AIDS information lacks the dynamics and depth,
and effective propaganda activities have not been launched yet in some remote rural
areas.
4, The dangerous factors causing the prevailing of AIDS have not been effectively
controlled.
5, The financial input is not sufficient.
6, The legislation related to AIDS still needs to be perfected.
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Strategies :
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the construction of monitoring and
inspecting system of AIDS information must be strengthened. Every government
department shall recognize the importance of the AIDS prevention and treatment, and
the coordinated prevention and control mechanism attended by every department and
leaded by the government shall be established and perfected. It is necessary to set up a
comprehensive propaganda strategy for preventing and curing AIDS, and to intervene
with the high-risk group, strengthen the regulated management of venereal diseases,
and perfect the blood safety work further. It is required to increase governmental input
rationally, make comprehensive financing strategies and policies, and improve
effectiveness of the fund utilization. The modification and perfection of laws and
regulations related to AIDS prevention and cure shall be promoted actively and stably.
The incongruity or contradiction in the existing laws shall be modified, and the laws
related to AIDS shall be researched, and the relevant legal construction shall be
advanced stably.
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