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Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA) and Russian Community of People Living With HIV/AIDS Commend Russian Government for Increased Commitment to Fight HIV/AIDS; Open Letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin Delivered on Occasion of World AIDS Day

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 09:00 CST

The non-governmental organization Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA) and the Russian Community of People Living with HIV/AIDS, together with leading public figures from mass media, civil society, policy and business communities, today announced the presentation of an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing gratitude for his recently-announced decision to increase the State's budget for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in 2006 to $3 billion rubles (US $105 million), a nearly 20-fold increase over 2005.

The former Soviet Union is now home to the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemic. According to the UNAIDS/WHO's 2005 Global AIDS Epidemic Report, released last week, the region's HIV-positive population increased almost 20-fold in under 10 years. The report went on to state that the Russian Federation has the "biggest AIDS epidemic in all of Europe." With over 330,000 registered cases of HIV infection in Russia today, this rapid spread has some experts estimating that 8 million Russians - representing 10% of the country's adult population - could be infected by 2010.

The open letter, timed to coincide with World AIDS Day, was delivered to the Kremlin in recognition of improvements in the Russian government's policy on AIDS. The letter signifies a public desire to work with and support the government in the development and implementation of programs and policy initiatives designed to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and ensure access to treatment for people already living with this disease.

"We welcome President Putin's recognition of the potential devastating impact of HIV and his leadership in bringing more resources to the fight," said Avet Khachatrian, TPAA Director of Programs in the Russian Federation. "Today, information is the only vaccine against AIDS. The role of mass media is crucial to averting a generalized epidemic, and the partnership between mass media and civil society has proven its effectiveness in Russia."

The letter presented today also emphasizes several major objectives crucial to curbing the epidemic, including:

-- Ensuring access to treatment for everyone who needs it;

-- Developing effective prevention measures that reflect the specific characteristics of those most at-risk, including injecting drug users, sex workers, and youth;

-- Improving the effectiveness of programs and initiatives through the commitment of government, policy, and business leaders to the necessary resources, and to a sustained and consistent coordination and control over program implementation.

Hundreds of Russians and other concerned citizens worldwide have joined their voices to thank the Russian government for its increased commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS by visiting and subscribing to a new, on-line resource www.skazhispasibo.ru. More information about TPAA and HIV/AIDS in Russia and Ukraine can be found at www.tpaa.net.

Source: Business Wire

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