Nearly one out of fifty citizens in the city of Ekaterinburg, Russia have been infected with the HIV virus, a health official said, noting that the situation has already reached epidemic proportions. The region where Ekaterinburg is located tops the list of Russian regions afflicted by HIV. In the first nine months of 2016, the HIV infection rate there stood at 118.2 per 100,000 people. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered that 2.28 billion rubles be provided for treatment of those afflicted by HIV and Hepatitis B and C. In 2015, after the Russian Health Ministry published a report cautioning that the HIV epidemic in Russia was likely to spiral out of control by 2020, Medvedev urged it to develop a plan to combat HIV and AIDS. In July of this year, the United Nations AIDS agency said that there are some 36.7 million people infected with HIV worldwide, and that number has continued to grow over the past five years.
This frightening development is very reminiscent of the aids epidemic here in the united states during the 1980's. I find it Ironic however, that the Russian government, which is notoriously anti-LGBT, is willing to put so much money into care for the infected, despite the stigmatic attachments the community has with HIV and other STIs. Many people died in the 1980s due to the US governments inaction during the crisis, so it is good to know that Russia is not following our same mistakes. Whatever your political view is on LGBT people, we should all agree that everyone deserves a chance at a long and healthy life.
https://www.rt.com/news/365089-russia-urals-hiv-rate/
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