Numerous stars are needed to light up the sky, this is how Premier Li Keqiang highlighted the necessity for social organizations and volunteers to contribute to the fight against AIDS in a letter to medical workers and patients in a hospital in Beijing.

The letter was to mark World AIDS Day on Sunday, which had the theme, "Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-free Generation".

President Xi Jinping also pointed out that efforts from all walks of life must be mobilized to provide AIDS patients with as good care as possible and eliminate discrimination against them.

Indeed, joint efforts are necessary, as apart from new medicines, people's awareness about how they should behave to avoid being vulnerable to the virus needs to be promoted.

Statistics show as of September, 434,000 people were detected with HIV/AIDS, the newly detected cases stood at 70,000 this year and nearly 90 percent involved sexual transmission.

As Premier Li wrote in his letter, the efforts of the government, along with the efforts of volunteers and social organizations, with whom he has been interacting and giving support for years, have stemmed the rapid increase of HIV infections. This has been no easy task for such a populous country as China.

The 70,000 new cases detected this year alone should be a reminder that efforts should never be slackened to work on more effective treatment, as well as the need for greater endeavors to raise awareness of the disease and its transmission.

The money the central government put into the fight against AIDS in 2013 increased 10.5 percent compared with last year.

As Li said in his letter, social organizations and volunteers play an indispensable role in such areas as comforting those with HIV/AIDS, intervening to limit potentially risky behavior and eliminating discrimination against AIDS patients.

He said that social services could be purchased in an innovative way to stimulate social organizations' enthusiasm to get involved in efforts fighting the disease.

The road against AIDS is tough, and we are taking the necessary steps to win the battle.

(China Daily 12/02/2013 page8)