Chinese youth faced with threat of HIV virus  ( 2003-11-11 23:08) (Xinhua)     China now has up to one million HIV carriers and 
most are youngsters aged between 15 and 19, according to Zhang Xinsheng, 
vice-minister of education. 
 Zhang made the remarks at an international forum on AIDS and SARS held at 
prestigious Qinghua (Tsinghua) University in Beijing Monday, but did not 
disclose the exact figure of China's young HIV carriers. 
 Children and youth are the group of people most vulnerable to AIDS. In 2001, 
about 3.2 million children fell victim to the HIV virus and the number was still 
snowballing worldwide, according to relevant figures released by the United 
Nations. 
 To provide a more healthy environment for the development of children, 
governments at all levels should work harder still to spread the knowledge on 
AIDS prevention, while the developed countries and multinationals should 
accelerate the transfer of technology on AIDS prevention to developing 
countries, Zhang said. 
 China has begun teaching primary school pupils and middle school students 
knowledge on AIDS prevention, the risks of drugs abuse and the importance and 
urgency to protect the environment since March this year and listed three 
subjects as compulsory courses. 
  
 
 
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