The China Red Ribbon Foundation announced on Saturday, World AIDS Day, that it plans to launch a program in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to help deal with HIV/AIDS infections in Yili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, where drug addiction has plagued locals.
It will be the first such project for the foundation, which was established in 2005 jointly by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and over 20 of its member companies, according to Ye Dawei, deputy secretary-general of the non-governmental organization.
The first phase of the program will cover local children affected by the disease, and it will better equip local rural clinics deemed as the forefront in combating the disease, Ye told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
According to the foundation official, in the first phase, 380 affected local kids will each be provided with 3,000 yuan (476 U.S. dollars) in cash.
Yili, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, Zhumadian in Henan Province, and Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, are the four key areas listed by the central government in the combat against HIV/AIDS.
The foundation has distributed health kits containing anti-HIV/AIDS pamphlets, towels and condoms among locals in Liangshan in recent years, and is now doing so in Xinjiang.
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