![]() A recent newspaper article, for example, falsely stated that infection rates in Russia are decreasing and portrayed foreign research on the epidemic as an effort to discredit the country’s international reputation. Mainstream media is also culpable of promoting misinformation. The Russian Ministry of Healthcare further underrepresents the scale of the epidemic by only counting the HIV infections of those registered in government programs. Statistical data on HIV, for instance, is increasingly difficult to access in Russia, as it tends to be hidden in inaccessible medical publications. Instead of developing necessary prevention programs, Russian policymakers have politicized the epidemic by concealing its true scale. In addition, public health campaigns have not sufficiently strengthened general knowledge about HIV/AIDS within Russia’s broader population. For example, there are no regular sex education programs in secondary schools which could provide critical basic information about the disease. Russia also falls short in regards to HIV prevention programs for its general population. For example, Russia’s 2013 “gay propaganda law” has been harmful as it increases homophobia by labeling certain medical and social services as “propaganda” in favor of same-sex relations, making it more difficult for NGOs to offer HIV prevention services in the LGBTQ+ community. Punitive drug laws, discrimination by state authorities, and police harassment of vulnerable populations also limit prevention efforts. Notably, Russia’s political inaction and lack of evidence–based prevention programs for vulnerable groups has led to rising infection rates. Russia’s poor management of the epidemic is striking in light of globally decreasing rates of HIV infection. Lack of Evidence-Based Prevention Programs For example, the share of women among people living with HIV in Russia has been increasing and now stands at nearly 40 percent. However, with 1.4 percent of the Russian population aged 15 to 49 years being HIV positive as of 2020, the epidemic is increasingly generalized. Russia’s HIV epidemic has been primarily driven by intravenous drug use and was originally centered around vulnerable populations, including drug users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and prison inmates. In fact, demographers estimate that the HIV mortality rate will continue to grow and may overtake the cancer mortality rate by 2030. In 2020, there were more than 32,000 HIV–related deaths within the country. ![]() It has also become more dangerous as the number of HIV–related deaths is rising. Though the rate of new infections has decreased slightly since 2019, this is likely because of lower HIV testing rates during the COVID-19 crisis and the epidemic continues to grow. ![]() ![]() These are only the officially registered cases actual HIV infections are believed to be substantially higher. Over the previous five years, between 85,000 and 100,000 new infections have been reported annually. The number of people living with HIV in Russia reached more than 1.1 million in June 2021. Because of these realities, international organizations must find new ways to encourage Russia to rethink its HIV/AIDS policies by engaging in dialogue with the Russian government, business organizations, and civil society groups. By neglecting evidence–based prevention programs, the Russian government misses the opportunity to develop an effective response to one of the country’s most pressing health problems. Instead, Russian government policies marginalize vulnerable groups, restrict the work of civil society organizations in HIV prevention and care, and suppress the dissemination of critical information regarding the scale of the epidemic. This national crisis is largely the result of government failure to support necessary prevention approaches such as harm reduction programs, public information campaigns, and sex education in secondary schools. Out of a total population of 144 million, about 1.1 million Russians currently live with HIV. Whereas significant progress has been made in controlling HIV globally, Russia’s epidemic has continued to grow for the past thirty years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |