Few Russian HIV-Positives Treated With Antiretrovirals in 2005

Only about 10 percent of the estimated 341,000 HIV-positive Russians received antiretroviral treatment last year, according to Vadim Pokrovsky, director of the federal AIDS center. Russia's official estimate of cases has now risen to 357,918; Pokrovsky, however, believes an accurate count would be three times higher. "In many regions, there are no doctors qualified" to administer the drugs, and specialized treatment centers are in short supply as well, he said. This year, the Russian government increased its AIDS-fighting commitment by 20-fold to 3.1 billion rubles ($115 million US). By the end of 2007, more than 15,000 Russians should be on treatment financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. This summer, however, some HIV patients and nongovernmental organizations complained about a severe shortage of antiretrovirals and about government mismanagement of treatment funds.

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