More than a million people are living with HIV in Russia, or 1% of the population, according to the head of the federal AIDS center.
The price of a disastrous health policy. For the first time in its history, Russia has reached the threshold of one million people living with HIV. It was Vadim Pokrovsky, president of the Federal AIDS Center in Russia and notorious opponent of the Kremlin’s policies, who sounded the alarm on Monday. Cited by the agency Reuters, it ensures that this data is undervalued; in fact, 1.5 million Russians could be HIV positive.
90,000 new cases in 2014
This represents about 1% of the Russian population, consisting of 144 million inhabitants. An edifying rate, well above those recorded in other European countries, except Estonia. By comparison, in France, an estimated 150,000 people are living with HIV.
“The epidemic is growing stronger,” deplores Vadim Pokrovsky. Unfortunately, the measures that have been taken have not been enough ”. In 2014, 90,000 people discovered their HIV status.
According to the federal center, the number of infected people could reach two million by 2019. Since Russia recorded on its territory the first case of HIV in 1987, 204,000 have died of the disease.
The highest rate of injectors in the world
The center recalls that 57% of Russians infected with the virus have been infected through drug use, and that 20% of users test positive for HIV.
In fact, Russia holds another prize, which is also gloomy: it is the country with the highest rate of injecting drug users in the world – 1.8 million people, according to a Lancet study published in 2012.
30% of patients treated
The president of the AIDS Center also wishes to warn about access to healthcare in Russia, when only 30% of patients diagnosed with HIV currently receive the antiretroviral treatment their body needs to prevent the virus from multiplying.
To fight this scourge, Vadim Pokrovsky says he needs double the credits currently granted by the Kremlin, which amount to 625,000 euros. Beyond the lack of financial resources, AIDS experts criticize Russian policy, accused of nesting this epidemic. Among their grievances, they denounce the growing influence of the Orthodox Church opposed to the use of condoms, as well as the criminalization of prostitution, or the lack of prevention and sex education.
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