HIV in Europe statistics. State policies of different countries towards HIV-positive people. Ethics first
An annual report from the European Center for Disease Prevention (ECDC) says annual HIV incidence rates continue to rise across the region, from Western Europe to Central Asia. This is partly due to the continuous increase in incidence in Western and Central Europe among gay men and men who have sex with men. However, three quarters of new infections over the past year were detected in Eastern Europe and 60% in Russia alone.
In Russia- the country with the highest HIV infection rate in the region, the increase in detection of cases of infection can be partly explained by increased testing coverage, although we should not forget about the growing epidemic among the heterosexual population. Every fortieth Russian man aged 30 to 34 years is HIV-infected, while among the female population this figure is one case per 70 women. Since 2005, the annual incidence of the disease in the population has doubled, while at the same time the incidence of HIV infection among injection drug users has decreased, both in Russia and in any other European country.
In the Western European region The overall incidence of HIV infection has decreased, mainly due to declines in countries with high incidence rates and among people who inject drugs, but incidence among homosexuals and men who have sex with men continues to rise almost everywhere. The UK currently has the highest incidence and population burden of any country in Western Europe. Despite this, it should be said that in the UK and many other countries, the continued rise in new infections is explained (at least in part) by a gradual increase in the proportion and frequency of testing of men. However, according to the UK's 2015 annual report, the true rate of HIV infections remains stable at 2,800 new cases among gay men.
In Central Europe- From Poland (in the north) to Turkey (in the south) - population prevalence and the number of new HIV infections remain low, although there are signs of a coming wave of the epidemic among gay men and men who have sex with men, as evidenced by an increase in the number of cases diagnosed new infections ranging from 3 to 20 times over the past decade. As a result, in some countries (Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria) the incidence rate has more than doubled.
However, there are also positive trends in Europe, such as: a decrease in the incidence of HIV infection among injecting drug users (with a significant decrease in this indicator in Estonia), a widespread decrease in the rate of mother-to-child transmission, and signs of stabilization of the epidemic in Ukraine - the second worst affected country in Europe, as well as a stabilization or even slight decline in the incidence of the disease in the general population in Western Europe. While the European Region is struggling to control HIV infection (especially among men who have sex with men), Russia faces a generalized epidemic at levels similar to African countries.
Russia and Germany have many differences. But one of them is amazing: the annual increase in the number of HIV-infected people. Last year this figure in Russia exceeded 100 thousand people. The similar figure in Germany is only about 3.2 thousand, that is, 30 times less, said Sylvia Urban, a member of the board of the Deutsche AIDS Hilfe organization, at a conference held under the motto “The Invisible Epidemic” on Tuesday, October 17. . And this despite the fact that only one and a half times fewer people live in Germany than in Russia.
The key role of civil society
"Catastrophe". This is how Urban describes the avalanche-like spread of HIV in Russia, which has taken on the character of an epidemic. According to her, prevention is not yielding results, and funds for the fight against HIV and AIDS are being reduced. And this despite the fact that around the world the number of new HIV-infected people has decreased by a third since 2000, and the mortality rate among HIV-infected people has decreased by half. Everywhere except Eastern Europe. This terrible situation in the region was the subject of a conference organized in Berlin by three German non-governmental organizations - Deutsche AIDS Hilfe, Brot für die Welt and Aktionsbündnis gegen AIDS. Speaking about Eastern Europe, the organizers and participants of the conference meant three countries - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
According to Sylvia Urban, improved prevention measures, testing programs and access to treatments for those infected, which in turn sharply reduce the risk of transmission of the virus, are paying off around the world. In Eastern Europe (primarily in Russia), everything is different: “at-risk groups” are persecuted and discriminated against, the topic of sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular is hushed up, international funding for anti-HIV programs is reduced. Plus, government agencies are increasingly persecuting non-governmental organizations that receive donations from abroad.
According to Urban, the German experience in the fight against HIV shows that non-governmental organizations play a key role in prevention. “The enormous success of HIV prevention in Germany demonstrates how effective the interaction of the state with civil society structures can be,” Urban said.
"There's a lot to learn"
Russia can only dream of such interaction today. Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Federal AIDS Center, is extremely careful in his expressions. “Recently,” he says, “the religiosity of the population has increased in Russia, which sometimes takes very conservative forms that do not correspond to the modern development of society.”
According to him, homophobia, “bad attitudes” towards those who use drugs, as well as the unclear legal status of those who engage in prostitution, lead to the fact that Russia is unable to implement even half of the HIV prevention measures that are recognized as scientifically effective and effective. are used all over the world. “We have a lot to learn from Germany,” Pokrovsky said, citing the meager number of new HIV infections in a country of more than 80 million people by Russian standards.
The main method of HIV transmission in Russia remains drug use, Pokrovsky said. But since drugs are used predominantly by heterosexual men, their partners are at risk. According to him, today it is “very easy” for a woman aged 25-30 to meet an infected man. Pokrovsky estimates that about 3-4 percent of Russian men aged 30-40 are infected with HIV. Just like every fifth drug user and every tenth gay in Russia.
"An Epidemic of Sexual Hate"
According to Luis Loures, Deputy Director General of UNAIDS, Eastern Europe is experiencing not just an HIV epidemic, but an epidemic of discrimination, hatred of sexuality and xenophobia. And the front of this epidemic passes through Eastern Europe. “AIDS spreads fastest where people are discriminated against,” explains Lourdes. “The situation in Eastern Europe today is worse than in Africa!”
According to him, countries in the region lose billions of dollars a year due to homophobia, and discrimination only reduces the level of security in these states. And if the region does not find the resources today to stop the rapid spread of HIV, the cost of fighting the virus in the future will only be higher.
Sylvia Urban from Deutsche AIDS Hilfe echoes him: “Money is not everything. Openness and the fight against discrimination are very important.” The detabooization of the topic of sex in the public consciousness plays a huge role: “Sex should bring joy, good sex is a factor in the quality of life.” Therefore, we need to talk about sex from school and not in a negative way, Urban points out.
Context
"Toxic environment" for HIV prevention
Raminta Stuikute, lead adviser to the UN special envoy for HIV in Eastern Europe, describes the atmosphere in Russia as "toxic" for effective HIV prevention. According to her, Russia does not use world experience, scientific achievements and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) - everything that has been tested in practice and works in many countries, including Germany. “Sooner or later, science must defeat ideology,” Stuikyute nevertheless predicts.
But when will this happen and how? It is very important, continues Stuikyute, that Russia makes the most of the experience from other countries, including Germany: “To exchange experience in HIV prevention, dialogue is extremely important, and not self-isolation in matters of health care and law enforcement practices.”
Will the leadership of the Russian Federation listen to the calls of international experts and civil activists gathered in Berlin? According to the apt remark of one of the activists of a charitable foundation for HIV prevention who arrived from Moscow, in Russia today everything is decided by one single person. Therefore, the activist asked, “could Angela Merkel talk to him about this?”
See also:
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10 stars who became infected with HIV
One of the first and most famous victims of HIV infection was the British singer of Parsi origin, songwriter, and vocalist of the rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury. He died in 1991 at the age of 45, in the prime of his creative powers. Just a day before his death, he announced that he had AIDS.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
Rudolf Nureyev
The famous Soviet and British ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev asked for political asylum in 1961 during a tour of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater troupe in Paris. He lived in the West for just over 30 years. Nureyev died of AIDS on January 6, 1993 at the age of 54. For many years, the dancer hid and denied rumors about his illness.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
The Swedish musician is famous not only in his homeland, but also in Europe. He founded the pop group Alcazar and was its main soloist for a long time. In 2007, he publicly admitted that he was HIV positive. Lundstedt's open statement was met with great approval by representatives of the world of politics and show business.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
Another musician who announced his status as HIV-positive was Erasure member Andy Bell. The Englishman made a corresponding public statement in 2004, although the diagnosis was made 6 years before coming out. The musician is known to donate to HIV education and research.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
American photographer and writer Mary Fisher, who has openly declared her status, has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) since 2006. She runs her own foundation dedicated to research and education in the field.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
Earvin "Magic" Johnson
There are many HIV-infected people among successful athletes. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of the most famous basketball players in NBA history. With his confession, he overturned people's ideas that only drug addicts and homosexuals can become infected with HIV. The former basketball player is engaged in educational and charitable activities for HIV-infected people like him.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
The former heavyweight boxer, who starred in Rocky V with Sylvester Stallone, died on September 1, 2013 at the age of 44, presumably from AIDS. The athlete became infected with HIV almost 20 years ago, but for a long time did not want to believe it, refusing therapy.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
American Greg Louganis is one of the best divers, a four-time Olympic winner and a five-time world champion. He learned of his status in 1988, but continued to participate in the sport, winning two more Olympic gold medals. However, Louganis found the strength to openly admit that he was HIV-positive only in 1995, when his autobiography was published.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
German singer Nadja Benaissa gained fame performing in the pop group No Angels. In 2010, Nadya left the group after she received a two-year suspended sentence for infecting her sexual partner with HIV. The singer is raising a daughter, who was born in October 1999. During pregnancy, Nadya was diagnosed with HIV. Today she leads a normal life and participates in projects to combat AIDS.
10 stars who became infected with HIV
American actor Charlie Sheen is known for numerous scandals in his personal and public life, including due to drug abuse. On November 17, 2015, Charlie Sheen admitted that he was infected with HIV. According to him, he was diagnosed about four years ago. The reason for coming out was the blackmail of one of the prostitutes, who demanded a huge amount of money for her silence.
Legal status of HIV-infected people in Russia, 54% originality. passed in 2017, at Far Eastern State Medical University, grade 4.
The spread of HIV infection poses a significant challenge both in the area of individual human rights and in the area of inclusive socio-economic development for various countries around the world. This is equally true in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the number of people living with HIV continues to rise steadily, as does the extent and impact of social exclusion.
In this regard, the United Nations Development Program created a report on AIDS in Eastern Europe and the CIS countries entitled “Fighting the epidemic - facts and possible solutions”, which has received widespread coverage in more than 30 countries since its launch in 2004 year and remains a widely cited resource.
This paper examines the legal status of HIV-infected people in Russia and, the system of state guarantees of the rights of HIV-infected persons, as well as international standards for ensuring the rights of HIV-infected persons and their implementation by the Russian Federation
Introduction
1. Legal status of HIV-infected people in Russia
2. System of state guarantees of the rights of HIV-infected persons
3. International standards for ensuring the rights of HIV-infected persons and their implementation by the Russian Federation
Conclusion
List of sources used
List of sources used
1. Labor Code of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2001 N 197-FZ // Reference and legal system "ConsultantPlus".
2. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of June 13, 1996 N 63-FZ.
3. Federal Law of August 22, 1996 N 125-FZ “On Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education”.
4. Federal Law of March 30, 1995 N 38-FZ “On preventing the spread of the disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection) in the Russian Federation.”
5. Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of the health of citizens of July 22, 1993 N 5487-1.
6. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 1, 2004 N 715 “On approval of the List of socially significant diseases and the List of diseases that pose a danger to others.”
7. Statement of Rights Government of the Russian Federation dated February 25, 2003 N 123 “On approval of the Regulations on military medical examination.”
8. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 28, 1996 N 221 “On approval of the Rules for compulsory medical examination of persons in prison for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection).”
9. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 4, 1995 N 877 “On approval of the List of workers of certain professions, industries, enterprises, institutions and organizations who undergo mandatory medical examination to detect HIV infection during mandatory pre-employment and periodic medical inspections."
10. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 1995 N 1017 “On approval of the Rules for conducting compulsory medical examination for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection).”
11. Resolution of the USSR Supreme Council of April 23, 1990 N 1448-1 “On the procedure for enacting the USSR Law “On the Prevention of AIDS”.
12. Order of the USSR Ministry of Health dated June 10, 1985 N 776 “On organizing the search for AIDS patients and monitoring donors for the presence of the AIDS pathogen.”
13. Order of the USSR Ministry of Health dated September 4, 1987 N 1002 “On measures to prevent infection with the AIDS virus.”
14. Guide for legislators on HIV/AIDS, legislation and human rights [Electronic resource]: Electronic. text data and Count. Dan. Geneva: UNAIDS, 2000. 211 p. Access mode: http://www.unaids.org, free.
15. Ryul K. Economic consequences of the spread of HIV infection in Russia // Sexually transmitted infections. 2003. N 1.
16. Kryukova A.A. HIV. Realization of patients' rights. Basic questions and practical advice / A.A. Kryukova, E.V. Romanyak. - St. Petersburg: Publishing House of the Polytechnic University, 2013. - 52 p.
17. Issues of the legal status of HIV-infected persons. "Medical Law", 2007, N 3. - 8 p.
18. Regional Human Development Report on AIDS. Living with HIV in Eastern Europe and the CIS: The Human Cost of Social Exclusion. UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre. December 2008. - 76 p. 19. Federal Law "On Prevention of Spreading in the Russian Federation of Disease Caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV infection)": Background, Content, and Perspectives. Policy Brief #1.3. September 2004. - 12 s
Countering the spread of HIV infection receives a lot of attention in all countries of the world, in some of which this disease has reached epidemic proportions. All HIV-positive people are provided with qualified medical care. For many patients, doctors prescribe a course of antiretroviral therapy and carry out preventive measures. If a person with HIV knows about his HIV status, takes precautions and strictly follows the instructions of doctors, he can lead a normal life.
The trouble is that not all members of society are ready to put up with the fact that there is a person with the immunodeficiency virus in their environment. This is explained, first of all, by the lack of knowledge on their part about this disease and how it spreads. They have a certain stereotype and don’t want to hear anything else. This is a fundamentally wrong opinion; we must not forget how difficult life is sometimes for HIV-positive people. They are not simply ignored, society expresses contempt for them, showing its negativity, infringes on their rights, and discriminates. Ordinary healthy people live their lives and don’t think about the fact that such a disaster could happen to them or their loved ones. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to make the lives of HIV-positive people more comfortable and minimize the spread of this disease. And to do this, it is necessary to regularly implement specific policies, for which responsibility is assigned to the state.
What measures are being taken in different countries
If you look into the past, you can see that as soon as the immunodeficiency virus began its march across the planet, there was a negative attitude towards HIV-positive people from society. The reason lies in the policies of states that they pursued in relation to HIV and AIDS. They viewed the disease as affecting only men who have sex with men, injection drug users and sex workers. For many years, governments around the world, including the United States, believed that the disease would not spread beyond these populations. Accordingly, the attitude towards them was special, or rather extremely negative. HIV-positive people were insulted, humiliated, even their houses were set on fire and they were physically assaulted.
In the USSR, this disease was approached irresponsibly, believing that there was no social basis for its spread in the state, and there could not be. But the leadership was wrong in their forecasts, and the immunodeficiency virus began to spread throughout the territory of this large state. This led to the adoption of the law “On the Prevention of AIDS” on the territory of the Soviet Union. It was an imperfect law; it had 9 articles that spelled out the rights of HIV-positive people and anti-discrimination norms. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia adopted a new Federal Law “On preventing the spread in the Russian Federation of the disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection)” dated March 30, 1995 No. 38-FZ, to which adjustments and amendments are constantly being made. For example, on December 30, 2015, amendments were adopted allowing HIV-positive stateless people and foreigners to stay and reside on the territory of the Russian Federation if they have close relatives in Russia (clause 3, article 11, 38-FZ of 03/30/1995). Also, a mandatory condition for these persons is compliance with the laws of the country. The entry of persons with the immunodeficiency virus into Ukraine was prohibited, but now they can freely cross the state border.
Much work is being done to combat the spread of HIV in America. Despite this, the number of HIV-positive people in this country remains high. According to statistics, about 1.3 million people suffer from this disease in the United States. But, since the country is doing everything to ensure that patients have the opportunity to undergo courses of antiretroviral therapy, the mortality rate from the virus is very low. The United States is doing well with awareness of this disease. This is why the public treats HIV-positive people with understanding. Every year the state allocated huge amounts of money – about 10 billion dollars – for preventive measures and the fight against the spread of HIV.
Society in Germany is friendly towards HIV-positive people. The country is actively carrying out preventive measures aimed at combating this disease. Children in Germany are informed from an early age, special programs are drawn up for them, and sexual literacy lessons are conducted. The Ministry of Health has developed a strategy that is based on three areas:
- reduce new cases of infection as much as possible;
- fight permanently against discrimination;
- provide maximum assistance to people diagnosed with HIV.
In each state, the leadership pursues its own policy aimed at reducing the spread of infection and carrying out preventive measures.
According to the report announced at the Fifth International Conference on HIV, held in March 2016 in Moscow, the following ranking of 10 countries was compiled by the number of people infected with AIDS. The incidence of AIDS in these countries is so high that it has the status of an epidemic.
AIDS– acquired immune deficiency syndrome due to HIV infection. It is the last stage of the disease of an HIV-infected person, accompanied by the development of infection, tumor manifestations, general weakness and ultimately leads to death.
10th place. Zambia
1.2 million patients out of 14 million population. Therefore, it is not surprising that the average life expectancy there is 38 years.
9th place. Russia
In 2016, in Russia, the number of people infected with AIDS exceeded 1 million people according to Russian health care, 1.4 million according to the EECAAC-2016 report. Moreover, the number of infected people has been actively growing over the past few years. For example: every 50th resident of Yekaterinburg is HIV positive.
In Russia, more than half of the patients became infected through a needle when injecting a drug. This route of infection is not the main route of infection for any country in the world. Why are there such statistics in Russia? Many say this is due to the shift away from the use of oral methadone as an injectable drug replacement.
Many people mistakenly believe that the problem of infection of drug addicts is only their problem; it is not so scary if the “scum of society” acquire diseases that lead to death. A person who uses drugs is not a monster who can be easily identified in a crowd. He has been leading a completely normal life for a long time. Therefore, spouses and children of drug addicts are often infected. Cases cannot be excluded when infection occurs in clinics and beauty salons after poor disinfection of instruments.
Until society realizes the real threat, until casual partners stop assessing the presence of STDs by eye, until the government changes its attitude towards drug addicts, we will rapidly rise in this ranking.
8th place. Kenya
6.7% of the population of this former English colony are HIV carriers, namely 1.4 million people. Moreover, the infection rate is higher among women, since the social level of the female population is low in Kenya. Perhaps the rather free morals of Kenyans also play a role - they approach sex easily.
7th place. Tanzania
Of the 49 million population of this African country, just over 5% (1.5 million) have AIDS. There are areas where the infection rate exceeds 10%: these are Njobe, far from tourist routes, and the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.
6th place. Uganda
The government of this country is making great efforts to combat the HIV problem. For example, if in 2011 there were 28 thousand children born with HIV, then in 2015 – 3.4 thousand. The number of new infections in adults also decreased by 50%. The 24-year-old king of Toro (one of the regions of Uganda) took control of the epidemic into his own hands and promised to stop the epidemic by 2030. There are one and a half million cases in this country.
5th place. Mozambique
More than 10% of the population (1.5 million people) are infected with HIV, and the country does not have its own resources to fight the disease. About 0.6 million children in this country are orphans due to the death of their parents from AIDS.
4th place. Zimbabwe
1.6 million infected per 13 million inhabitants. Widespread prostitution, lack of basic knowledge about contraception and general poverty led to these figures.
3rd place. India
Official figures are about 2 million patients, unofficial figures are much higher. Traditional Indian society is quite closed; many people keep silent about health problems. There is practically no educational work with young people; talking about condoms in schools is unethical. Hence, there is almost complete illiteracy in matters of contraception, which distinguishes this country from African countries, where getting condoms is not a problem. According to surveys, 60% of Indian women have never heard of AIDS.
2nd place. Nigeria
3.4 million HIV patients out of 146 million population, less than 5% of the population. The number of infected women is higher than men. Since there is no free healthcare in the country, the worst situation is in the poor.
1 place. South Africa
Country with the highest incidence of AIDS. Approximately 15% of the population is infected with the virus (6.3 million). About a quarter of high school girls already have HIV. Life expectancy is 45 years. Imagine a country where few people have grandparents. Scary? Although South Africa is recognized as the most economically developed country in Africa, most of the population lives below the poverty line. The government is doing a lot of work to curb the spread of AIDS; free condoms and testing are provided. However, poor people are convinced that AIDS is a white invention, just like condoms, and therefore both should be avoided.
Bordering South Africa, Swaziland is a country with a population of 1.2 million people, half of whom are HIV-positive. The average Swazilander does not live to be 37 years old.
