BEIJING, Feb 24 (AP) —— Former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed an agreement Monday with China to provide a year's supply of AIDS drugs to 200 children to help Beijing battle the disease.
The program is part of a three-year, US$10 million (€7.6 million) deal struck last year between the Clinton Foundation and China's Health Ministry.
The Chinese government says an estimated 840,000 people have been infected with the AIDS virus in the nation. The U.N. AIDS agency says the number of infections could rise tenfold to 10 million by 2010 if urgent action is not taken.
"We have a real chance to keep this epidemic from spiraling out of control," Clinton said during the signing ceremony, held at the Health Ministry shortly after his arrival.
No details were released about the pediatric drug program.
Clinton said he has taken "personal pleasure" in helping China tackle the spread of AIDS and was impressed at the country's response.
"I hope China's actions will encourage other countries (suffering from AIDS) to do as much," he said.
Tens of thousands of people in central Henan province were infected in the 1990s because of an unsanitary blood-buying industry. In some villages nearly every family has a member with the virus, giving parts of the province some of the world's highest rates of AIDS infection.
Beijing has become increasingly open about its AIDS epidemic after years of denial, promising to provide free testing and counseling for those who seek it and free anti-retroviral treatment for the poor.
During the Lunar New Year this month, Premier Wen Jiabao visited AIDS patients and called for better prevention measures. The move not only showed the government's efforts to reduce the stigma of the disease, but also highlighted its concern about controlling its spread.
Since leaving office, Clinton has been using his celebrity status to get HIV therapies to needy countries through his Little Rock, Arkansas-based foundation.
He has brokered deals with several major pharmaceutical companies to supply AIDS drugs at discounted prices to the Third World and has sent policy experts to help countries fight the disease.
He has also channeled hundreds of millions in private donations and contributions from governments to countries, especially in Africa, where AIDS is rampant.
The former president traveled to Beijing from Hong Kong, where he promoted his autobiography, "My Life."
