Nearly 42 percent of Chinese who are HIV positive have experiences of stigma and discrimination, says a report published by UNAIDS on Friday.

It is the first report in China to cite evidence underlining the importance of public health education to remove the stigma and discrimination, said Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS executive director.

The report, based on a survey of more than 2,000 respondents living with HIV in China, said that 41.7 percent of them reported having faced some type of HIV-related discrimination and more than two thirds said their family members had experienced discrimination as a result of their HIV status.

According to the report, a quarter of medical staff and more than a third of government officials and teachers develop more negative and discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV after learning of their HIV positive status.

The stigma and discrimination had affected many aspects of their lives, including medical care, education, housing and finding jobs, said the report. More than 12 percent had been refused medical care at least once since they were tested positive.

"These results really underscore the importance of ensuring health care professionals receive appropriate training to reduce stigma and discrimination and increasing their ability to provide appropriate services to people living with HIV," Sidibe said.

Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister of Health, said the fear of being stigmatized and discriminated against prevented people from getting information about HIV prevention, getting tested and accessing treatment.

"The stigma and discrimination have been a major barrier on AIDS prevention and treatment," Huang said.

Huang said the government attached great importance to eliminating the discrimination and its efforts had been taking effect.

"Awareness has been promoted in recent years in China. People used to avoid talking about AIDS in the 1990s but now they shake hands and hug with people living with HIV," said Sidibe, calling on the public to participate in the campaign to reduce discrimination.

"People living with HIV should not be forced to live in the shadows," said an HIV positive man, who identified himself as Yu Xuan, not his real name to avoid discrimination on his family members.

"The discrimination will not be a problem if everyone can join the campaign," said Yu Xuan who is a consultant for "positive talks." Yu was honored as a "Top Ten AIDS volunteer" in 2008 by Shandong Provincial Red Cross.

"I hope next time I can tell the public my real name," he said.

The UNAIDS and Ministry of Health have jointly launched a nationwide campaign to reduce HIV-related discrimination.

The campaign will culminate on World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 and will start with broadcasts of the videos and posters featured by Chinese basketball player Yao Ming on more than 20 giant outdoor screens in 12 cities. More than 30,000 posters will be distributed and the video will be shown in hotels and websites across CHina.

The Ministry of Health estimated that 740,000 people were living with HIV in China at the end of 2009. The latest statistics from the ministry showed that 48,000 people had been infected in 2009 and more than 70 percent of new infections are through sexual transmission.

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