Russia: Tver Puts a Dent in HIV

Injecting drugs is the main source of HIV infections in Russia. According to the UN, Russia has one of the fastest growing rates of infection in the world, with the number of HIV cases doubling each year. Of the country's 180,000 officially registered HIV infections, 100,000 occurred last year.

But in Tver, about 100 miles northwest of Moscow, the number of new cases has slowed, with an increase of only 20 percent in 2001, almost the same as 2000. Surrounding districts have rates that increased by 60 percent. Activists, largely working with drug addicts and aided by international funding, seem to making the difference.

According to Alexander Kolesnikov, head of the Tver AIDS Center, 2,643 of the 1.7 million people in the Tver region are registered as HIV-positive. "The epidemic passed 500 people in 1997. At that time 95 percent were infected through drug use. Today 30 percent of infections are from sexual contact, and 29 out of 35 districts have AIDS cases."

A nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Tver, Tvoi Vybor, or Your Choice, is working directly on the epidemic with a range of services. Among its several salaried staff and five volunteers are young sociologists, psychologists and medical doctors. "People feel better talking to an NGO than to officials," said Slava Smolesky, 25, a doctor who co-founded and coordinates the program. "Some people call us to ask if their identity will be kept secret if they go to the AIDS center for a test." He confirmed that the center indeed preserves confidentiality.

Tvoi Vybor has received funding from Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, the Swedish International Development Agency and the Dutch Embassy. Its latest sponsor is a project funded by a three-year Canadian government grant of US$1.3 million.

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