China is planning to offer free antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all it’s citizens living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, reports from Chinese health top official.
The program was a good news to about 575,000 Chinese living with the said disease, and also to help in stopping HIV/AIDS spread among urban youths.
According to China Daily report, prior to the new government guidelines, only patient with low level of immunity is entitled to free antiviral therapy because they are the ones who has the higher chance to pose severe health threat, including life-threatening infections.
The China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission said that the HIV/AIDS patients are recommended to undergo antiviral therapy based on the country’s new guidelines and stressing that the patients must personally present themselves voluntarily and must commit in lifelong treatment.
The new guidelines was welcomed positively by several health advocates in China, seeing the new program as new tool to help all the citizens living with the disease with better treatment outcomes and for public health as well.
With the new health program, China is now included in the list of countries, together with USA and Australia, that offers early treatment strategy for all infected to be implemented nationwide.