Russia: lacking condoms in the fight against AIDS
Journalen Sykepleien 82(3): 36-37
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0802-9776 PMID: 7946738 Document Number: 289423
Russia has 80% of all HIV infections that have occurred in the former Soviet Union, and the increased mobility of people will lead to higher figures in the whole of eastern Europe if nothing is done. Earlier all foreigners were tested who came to Russia, but such screening was too expensive and was not the most effective way of dealing with the problem, according to a Russian doctor who is the director of disease prevention in Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO). New awareness about AIDS has created a problem because many people refuse to let their children be vaccinated against infectious diseases such as diphtheria, since in Russia no disposable syringes are available. 25 people became infected with HIV at a hospital in the village of Elista because of deficient sterilization. There are attempts to improve surveillance methods, visitors are no longer tested, but pregnant women are tested twice, and all hospital patients undergo mandatory testing for HIV. The number of HIV-tested people increased from 3 million in 1987 to 33 million in 1990. In April 1994 at an AIDS conference in Riga 35 participants approved a resolution that demands rapid treatment, respect for and protection of human rights, and human dignity. At a WHO conference in Athens, where 50 countries participated, the main view was to learn about the mistakes that were committed in the campaigns against AIDS at other sites worldwide, and to set in motion an effective campaign in the East. In this campaign safe sex is the slogan, but to achieve safe sex, Russian men must have access to more than 12 condoms a year.