| China to invest 28 mln USD to build leprosy hospitals in 2007 |
BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- China plans to invest 220 million yuan (28 million U.S. dollars) in building new leprosy hospitals and renovate old ones, an official with the Ministry of Health said Sunday.
The last Sunday in January every year is World Leprosy Day, which falls on Jan. 28 this year. It is also China's Leprosy Day.
The ministry will strengthen cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, China Disabled Persons' Federation, and Ministry of Civil Affairs in improving the living condition and medical treatment for leprosy patients, Vice Minister of Health Wang Longde.
Wang and other officials visited leprosy patients in Yunnan Province on the World Leprosy Day.
The government has been providing free treatment for leprosy patients. But there are still 6,300 leprosy patients in the country, and the number is increasing by 1,600 a year.
Most leprosy cases are found in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and Tibet. Children account for 2.1 percent of new cases.
Wang praised the efforts and contribution made by the Yunan provincial government in the prevention and treatment of leprosy.
He said there exists discrimination toward leprosy. China's Leprosy Day this year is themed with eradicating discrimination and building a harmonious society.
Leprosy, which is one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world -- first mentioned in writing in 600 B.C. -- causes deformities and nerve damage. It incubates in the human body for up to 20 years and is transmitted via droplets from the nose and mouth during contact with untreated, infected sufferers.
However, it can be cured by a sustained year-long antibiotic treatment.
The Chinese government has asked local authorities to wage an education campaign about the prevention and control of the disease, and called for the eradication of discrimination against leprosy patients.
Last July, the Ministry of Health published a leprosy control plan, vowing to eradicate the disease in Anhui and Qinghai by 2008and in Chongqing, Guangdong and Shaanxi by 2010.
|
|
