 The 2006 Regulation on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS formally barred legal discrimination against anyone based on the HIV status.While lauding the Regulation as a major step forward, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 2015 reported that local governments often functionally ignored its provisions.A 2016 study in Guangzhou found that large numbers of healthcare providers also discriminated against HIV-positive patients, with over one-third refusing to treat such patients altogether.