Plod

Dear Colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the signing today of a historic Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and MSD to establish a public-private partnership for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in China. This agreement joins MSD and the government together in the fight to stop the progress of the epidemic in China. The signing launches the largest public-private partnership ever established in China to address HIV/AIDS.

The Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Cooperative Project brings together a complementary set of HIV/AIDS interventions - disease education, prevention, treatment and support. Ultimately, the program will prevent the spread of HIV, support those infected and affected with HIV/AIDS, and re-integrate people living with HIV/AIDS as productive members of their communities and supportive members of their families. The five-year program that will be introduced in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province in fall 2005.

HIV/AIDS has taken a terrible toll on public health in every corner of the world. No peoples, no nation, has been exempt from its reach. That's why the battle against HIV/AIDS involves all nations of the world and members of the international community. It is not a fight that government can fight alone. For the past decade and more, MSD has been working cooperatively with more than 70 governments to bring to their people our medicines for treating people with HIV/AIDS. We are now able to bring our global work around HIV/AIDS to China.

This is indeed a deep honor for MSD. With the signing of this agreement, we have put into deeds the words of the modern-day founder of our company, George W. Merck, and are writing a new chapter in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

Congratulations to all.

Paul Li

PS: For any detail information, please see the attached press release and keep your eyes on the relevant news reports from the key media.