Today marks World AIDS Day and offers us an opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made to tackle HIV and AIDS. This is particularly important as we enter an era where HIV/AIDS is no longer considered a death sentence for many, but an increasingly manageable disease. With the right antiretroviral drugs, people with HIV can now live well into their 60s or 70s. However, the social status and perception of those with HIV/AIDS still needs to change. We must abandon the outdated, bigoted perception of those with HIV/AIDS as social outcasts and embrace them as valuable members of our society.

Although there is still a long way to go in the medical fight against HIV/AIDS, it is this social discrimination that is most pressing, particularly in countries such as China where stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS are still rife.

It is even more distressing to see these prejudices within the medical profession. There have been reports even in recent years of hospitals and doctors refusing to treat or operate on patients with HIV/AIDS, sometimes leading to prolonged suffering and deaths. Hospitals that are supposedly "designated" for HIV/AIDS patients very rarely have the ability to treat anything other than HIV-related illnesses, while other mainstream hospitals seem to fear infection. It is ludicrous for anyone who is medically trained to have an attitude like this regarding HIV/AIDS. The risk of infection is minimal if proper procedures are followed.

Studies reveal this is not an isolated problem. One report found that in the first three quarters of 2009, a hospital in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region refused to perform surgeries on 15 of 21 HIV carriers. Elsewhere in south China, an HIV-infected woman was refused treatment in Guangdong Province despite receiving burns to 85 percent of her body in an accident. Such discrimination not only goes against long-established medical codes of ethics, but also prevents many people from seeking treatment for their condition.

This is not to say that progress has not been made, thanks to open and active support from the central government in Beijing. Beijing's nationwide policies to offer free antiretroviral drugs has seen treatment coverage across China rise in recent years from almost zero to over 60 percent, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal in May. However, with poor attitudes from some medical establishments in China, the death toll will continue to be significant.

Even for those who do seek treatment, there are problems. The use of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat complications from HIV/AIDS may not be particularly controversial within the country, but there is very little evidence as to its effectiveness. Studies showing its supposed effectiveness have rarely, if ever, been replicated with positive results away from China. Furthermore, the use of TCM instead of, or in combination with, effective antiretroviral drugs is worrying. For such a serious disease, the need for stringent, evidence-based results is perhaps even greater, along with at least some understanding of how the treatment mechanism works.

The right treatment is there, but people need to feel comfortable seeking treatment, afforded the respect they deserve, and given treatment that works. Despite some of Beijing's efforts to make the necessary changes, HIV/AIDS-related deaths will continue to remain at an unacceptable level unless attitudes change.