Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS
Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS
Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS
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<strong>AIDS</strong> in a new millennium: a grim picture <strong>with</strong> glimmers of hopecases in that year than in all previous years combined. While about 130 000 Russiansare thought to be already infected <strong>with</strong> <strong>HIV</strong>, recent estimates of the number of injectingdrug users in the country range between 1 <strong>and</strong> 2.5 million. Obviously, many more infectionsmay still occur in this group, apart from the risk of further spread of <strong>HIV</strong> into otherparts of the population.Figure 5. Number of diagnosed <strong>HIV</strong> infections, Ukraine, 1993-19981993199419951996199719980 5000 10 000 15 000 20 000 25 000 30 000Source: National <strong>AIDS</strong> Programme, Ukraine, 1999High-income countries: long survival but more risk behaviourIn high-income nations, <strong>HIV</strong> infections are concentrated principally among injectingdrug users <strong>and</strong> gay men. The available data suggest that there are very low <strong>HIV</strong> infectionrates among heterosexuals in the general population. In Germany in the mid-1990s, fewer than 3 out of 10 000 women of childbearing age were infected. Similarlylow rates have been recorded elsewhere. Very early in the epidemic, once in<strong>for</strong>mation<strong>and</strong> services <strong>for</strong> prevention had been made available to most of the population, thelevel of unprotected sex fell in many countries <strong>and</strong> the dem<strong>and</strong> rose <strong>for</strong> reproductivehealth services, <strong>HIV</strong> counselling <strong>and</strong> testing <strong>and</strong> other preventive services.The situation is very different among injecting drug users. Some communities <strong>and</strong>countries have initiated aggressive <strong>HIV</strong> prevention ef<strong>for</strong>ts in this group, containingthe <strong>HIV</strong> prevalence rate below 5%. In many places, however, the political cost of19