A new UNDP report shows that Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have some of the fastest growing rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the world.
The impact is compounded by still insufficient public awareness, frequent stigmatization and lack of adequate policy instruments. Nonetheless, the region also has success stories, from which valuable lessons should be taken.
Reversing the Epidemic: Facts and Policy Options offers HIV/AIDS profiles for the countries of the region, describes high-risk groups and the behaviours that make them vulnerable to infection, and discusses why human rights is an essential ingredient for fighting the epidemic. The report also touches upon the issues of decriminalising injecting drug use and undertaking comprehensive prison reform. The inclusion of marginalized groups in policy processes is also considered a key element in the response to HIV/AIDS.
Members of at-risk groups are often subject to social exclusion, poverty, stigmatisation, or incarceration. Also, the above-average prevalence of HIV in the region’s over-crowded penal institutions-which the report calls ’real HIV incubators’-is a serious cause for concern.
The UNDP report reveals that the infection is threatening economic growth because many of those who are HIV positive are between the ages of 15 and 40 years old - the bulk of the labour force. Estimations of 1.8 million people living with HIV/AIDS represents about 0.9 % of the adult population. Experience from other regions of the world indicate a 1% infection rate as a threshold. Beyond this percentage, efforts to turn back the epidemic have failed in many other countries.
AIDES documentary and report Breaking the curve: HIV/Aids in Russia and Estonia.
