Program aims to protect prostitutes

GUANGZHOU - At least 12,500 prostitutes in Dongguan of South China's Guangdong province this year will be covered in an internationally financed HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention program being carried out across the country, a local official said.

No less than 12,500 prostitutes in the 32 towns and streets of Dongguan city will be targeted in the program, an anonymous official with the city's center for disease control and prevention (CDC) was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou Daily on Tuesday.

Seven towns - Changping, Humen, Houjie, Chang'an, Fenggang, Dongcheng and Tangxia - are designated to be the key intervention towns, which means 600 prostitutes in each town will be involved in the program, the official said.