KUNMING - Women from Myanmar who are married to Chinese men in neighboring Yunnan province are able to receive free HIV/AIDS checks or medical treatment if found infected, health officials said Thursday.

It is estimated at least 25,000 people in Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, are in cross-border marriages, of which HIV carriers and AIDS patients account for 2 percent, said Xu Heping, director of the provincial bureau of HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

Because as many as 95 percent of those people are in "de facto" marriages, or marriages that are not legally registered, it is extremely difficult to offer HIV/AIDS prevention and control services among them, Xu said.

Beginning from January, authorities in Ruili city, which borders Myanmar, decided to provide pre-marriage HIV/AIDS testing, anti-viral treatment and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission free of charge to married Myanmar women who reside in Ruili.

"All they (the women) need to present (for free services) is a statement from the village they reside in to prove their marital status," said Zhang Miaoyun, director of the city's AIDS prevention and control bureau.

Zhang noted that the decision was based on recent findings that indicate that nearly 60 percent of newly discovered HIV carriers or AIDS patients in Yunnan are women from Myanmar, many of whom are married to local residents.

Around 20,000 people cross the China-Myanmar border in Ruili every day. It is estimated that about 6,000 people in Ruili are in cross-border marriages and most are in "de facto" marriages.

"That means the majority of foreign brides are either unable or unwilling to apply for Chinese citizenship," said Zhang, adding that some of the women are unable to get valid identification from their home countries as well.

Without the policy, they would be unable to acquire free anti-HIV services that are typically reserved for Chinese nationals.

Ruili's program has received recognition from other anti-AIDS departments on both provincial and national levels.

Yunnan will look into creating a more effective AIDS prevention mechanism based on enhanced cooperation between cities on both sides of the province's borders, said Xu Heping.