Progress seen, but AIDS still on rise

December 1 is the annual World AIDS Day, dedicated to drawing
attention to the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV, the
human immunodeficiency virus, Radio Liberty reported.
UNAIDS, the United Nations' AIDS organization, says the past two
years have seen significant progress in preventing and treating
HIV/AIDS.
It says new infections have fallen by half in 25 countries -- 13 of
them in sub-Saharan Africa -- and that globally, AIDS-related
deaths have dropped by one-quarter since 2005.
However, UNAIDS says Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the only
regions where HIV prevalence clearly remains on the rise.
It says the number of people living with HIV in the regions has
almost tripled since 2000.
It says Ukraine is experiencing the most severe HIV epidemic in
Eastern Europe, with an estimated 230,000 people living with
HIV.
The head of Russia's AIDS Research Center says HIV infection in
Russia has become a "national threat," with 200 people getting
diagnosed with infections every day.
UNAIDS said that in the Middle East and North Africa, the number of
people infected with HIV increased by 35 percent between 2001 and
2011.
In Ukraine, UNAIDS said injection drug use remains the leading
cause of HIV infection, with an HIV prevalence of 21.5 percent
among people who inject drugs.
It said that in the countries of Eastern Europe, up to 40 percent
of new HIV infections occur among people who inject drugs and their
sexual partners.
It said that in Armenia, nearly one-quarter of new infections occur
among men who have sex with men.
In Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, UNAIDS says the
rate of new HIV infections has risen by more than 25 percent.
It says that in the Russian Federation, the annual number of new
infections has "dramatically" increased in recent years, with more
than 60,000 new HIV diagnoses reported in 2011.
Earlier this week, the head of Russia's AIDS Research Center warned
that HIV infection has become a "national threat," with 200 people
getting infected every day.
Vadim Pokrovsky bemoaned what he described as "complete
indifference" to the problem among Russians.
"Now we are registering an average of 200 new cases of HIV
infection among Russian citizens every day," he said.
"If we had 200 cases of diarrhea at a children's pioneer camp, the
country's head sanitation doctor would fly out immediately.... It
would be frightening. Governors would run, helicopters would fly,
the police would search for the source of infection, prosecutors
would get to work. But here we are seeing that there is complete
indifference to this situation."
Pokrovsky added that more than one percent of Russia's adult
population my have HIV.
"Now the estimated numbers (of HIV infected) range from 950,000 to
1.3 million," he said. "This is too much. This is already more than
one percent of Russia's adult population."