CHINA: China has revised its law on infectious diseases to include a demand that officials do more to fight the spread of Aids.
The revised law, which also includes clauses intended to ensure that victims of disease have access to treatment and are not subjected to discrimination, reflects a shift in the government's Aids policy after last year's deadly Sars epidemic.
Sars, which killed hundreds of people and caused widespread economic disruption, has prompted a review of the health system and unprecedented high-profile calls from top political leaders for action against Aids.
China's rural public health system has all but collapsed over the past two decades. Doctors and hospitals have been forced to rely on selling drugs for funding and left with little to invest in infectious disease control.
State media said the revised law contained the first reference in the legal code to Aids. The clause requires all levels of government to "strengthen prevention and control" but leaves detailed measures in the hands of the State Council, or cabinet.
Blood donation and blood product centres will also be required to abide by state regulations, a reference to the role in the spread of diseases played by illegal but often officially-backed blood-buying businesses.
The state Xinhua news agency said the new law also promised punishment for anyone concealing the spread of a disease - a reaction to failed attempts by officials to cover up the extent of the Sars problem.
Concerns that many people infected with serious diseases were routinely refused treatment because they could not afford to pay had prompted a clause requiring hospitals to accept patients, Xinhua said.
However, China still faces considerable challenges in rebuilding its public health system.
Demands for more effective action in themselves do not resolve the chronic shortage of funding for healthcare for rural or city dwellers not covered by employer health schemes.