The ignorance runs deep

The United Nations Fund for Population and Development recently conducted a survey of 2,000 migrant youths aged 14 to 25 in five Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Xiamen and Yancheng.

Only 12 percent were knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS; 72 percent had had unprotected sex in their first sexual encounter; and more than 40 percent did not want to share a telephone with an HIV-infected person.

Migrant youths are those most vulnerable to HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.