China’s Situation Confirms that AIDS is a Global Problem, Seattle Times Editorial Says
China's admission that it has an AIDS epidemic "spread by intravenous drug use, sexual contact and contaminated blood supplies" indicates the "obvious: The world is suffering a global emergency," a Seattle Times editorial says. Along with Africa, Europe, the United States and Latin America, China is part of the "dizzying statistical derby" that measures the total number of AIDS cases and the growth of new cases, the Times maintains. In China, 67% more people tested positive for HIV in the first six months of 2001 compared to the same period last year. Russia and Eastern Europe have the world's fastest-growing rate of HIV infection, and the number of HIV cases is rising again in the United States, the editorial states. The editorial adds, "The disease is global, and that is how the response has to be organized." Although the United Nations has taken a "leadership role" in the fight against AIDS, it will not succeed without the United States. The editorial says, however, that the $200 million per year that the United States has pledged toward the global effort is "paltry," adding, "Considering the global threat, and the wealth and power of the U.S. economy, we can do better." The editorial concludes, "New thinking is needed, or old ways and values will not survive" (Seattle Times, 8/27).
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