ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday called on the international community to improve multilateral cooperation mechanisms for fighting communicable diseases.

    "In recent years, frequent outbreaks of emerging communicable diseases, such as SARS and avian flu, together with the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, have posed a threat to people's health and lives," Hu said in a written speech to an outreach session of the G8 summit that opened on Monday morning in St. Petersburg.

    "The international community should establish and improve multilateral cooperation mechanisms for preventing and controlling communicable diseases," he said.

    "An overall plan should be promptly drawn up to fight avian flu and other communicable diseases. Scientific and standard prevention and control measures should be taken," the Chinese president told the session.

    He said technological exchange and cooperation should be deepened in a bid to achieve early breakthroughs in the basic research of communicable diseases.

    Hu called for increased technological and financial support for those poor countries plagued by communicable diseases.

    "High priority should be given to cooperation in epidemiology and prevention and control of avian flu, epidemic monitoring and diagnosis, R&D of vaccines and drug development so that all countries can benefit from scientific and technological achievements and experience in epidemic control," he noted.

    "Anti-retroviral drugs should be made easily available through price reduction or patent transfer so that more HIV/AIDS patients will be treated," Hu said.

    "Research, development and supply of inexpensive yet effective new anti-malaria drugs should be encouraged and supported to treat malaria patients and particularly those in Africa," he added. Enditem

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