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NewsPutin calls for "long term strategy" to fight AIDS in Russia01.01.70
President Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to draw up a "long-term strategy" to combat the country's AIDS epidemic, adding that he would put the matter on the agenda of July's G8 summit in St Petersburg. "The situation is worrying and demands a proactive attitude from society. A long-term strategy is indispensible", Putin told a meeting of regional leaders at the Kremlin. Russia's five-year plan against AIDS comes to an end this year, and the regional leaders are expected to come up with proposals for its renewal. "Our task is to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible", Putin said, noting that previous programmes had delivered a reduction in the number of new contaminations from 88,000 in 2001 to 33,000 in 2005. "The national health plan is spending 3.1 billion rubles (112 million dollars, 91 million euros) on the fight against AIDS this year, which is significantly more than in previous years", Putin added. The Russian Federal AIDS centre announced on Thursday that nearly 341,000 people were officially registered as HIV positive in Russia. If 14,000 babies born to HIV-positive mothers and currently undergoing tests are taken into account, the official total tops 355,000, according to the centre. The centre's director, Vadim Pokrovsky, said the real figure could be as high as 1.5 million. "Among 18 to 24-year-olds, one in every hundred people carries the virus," said Pokrovski, who felt that the situation was "getting worse". "In the late 1990s, the virus mainly affected drug addicts, but we are now witnessing a second wave of contaminations via sexual transmission," he explained. — AFP President Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to draw up a "long-term strategy" to combat the country's AIDS epidemic, adding that he would put the matter on the agenda of July's G8 summit in St Petersburg. "The situation is worrying and demands a proactive attitude from society. A long-term strategy is indispensible", Putin told a meeting of regional leaders at the Kremlin. Russia's five-year plan against AIDS comes to an end this year, and the regional leaders are expected to come up with proposals for its renewal. "Our task is to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible", Putin said, noting that previous programmes had delivered a reduction in the number of new contaminations from 88,000 in 2001 to 33,000 in 2005. "The national health plan is spending 3.1 billion rubles (112 million dollars, 91 million euros) on the fight against AIDS this year, which is significantly more than in previous years", Putin added. The Russian Federal AIDS centre announced on Thursday that nearly 341,000 people were officially registered as HIV positive in Russia. If 14,000 babies born to HIV-positive mothers and currently undergoing tests are taken into account, the official total tops 355,000, according to the centre. The centre's director, Vadim Pokrovsky, said the real figure could be as high as 1.5 million. "Among 18 to 24-year-olds, one in every hundred people carries the virus," said Pokrovski, who felt that the situation was "getting worse". "In the late 1990s, the virus mainly affected drug addicts, but we are now witnessing a second wave of contaminations via sexual transmission," he explained. — AFP President Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to draw up a "long-term strategy" to combat the country's AIDS epidemic, adding that he would put the matter on the agenda of July's G8 summit in St Petersburg. "The situation is worrying and demands a proactive attitude from society. A long-term strategy is indispensible", Putin told a meeting of regional leaders at the Kremlin. Russia's five-year plan against AIDS comes to an end this year, and the regional leaders are expected to come up with proposals for its renewal. "Our task is to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible", Putin said, noting that previous programmes had delivered a reduction in the number of new contaminations from 88,000 in 2001 to 33,000 in 2005. "The national health plan is spending 3.1 billion rubles (112 million dollars, 91 million euros) on the fight against AIDS this year, which is significantly more than in previous years", Putin added. The Russian Federal AIDS centre announced on Thursday that nearly 341,000 people were officially registered as HIV positive in Russia. If 14,000 babies born to HIV-positive mothers and currently undergoing tests are taken into account, the official total tops 355,000, according to the centre. The centre's director, Vadim Pokrovsky, said the real figure could be as high as 1.5 million. "Among 18 to 24-year-olds, one in every hundred people carries the virus," said Pokrovski, who felt that the situation was "getting worse". "In the late 1990s, the virus mainly affected drug addicts, but we are now witnessing a second wave of contaminations via sexual transmission," he explained. — AFP |
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