Russian Activists Risk Arrest Highlighting Denial Of HIV Treatment

A group of Russian AIDS activists are charging that the Russian Ministry of Health is denying that there are drug stock-outs that prevent patients from starting or continuing treatment. "In this situation, people with HIV face a choice: to die quietly at home or try to attract the attention of the government and the media," said Alexey Yaskovich, a Russian activist from Novgorod. "Therefore, activists will continue to go to the streets of Moscow and hold public events dedicated to saving their lives." Activists continue to mount protests around Moscow, even as some have been arrested and briefly detained.

Half of HIV-positive patients in need of life-saving treatment in The Russian Federation will not receive the drugs they need in 2010. According to the Russian Health Care Foundation, fewer than 62,000 patients out of the 120,000 who need treatment are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

"We, people living with HIV, are tired of inhumane treatment at the hands of officials. We will not be held hostage to official incompetence or negligence. We have the right to live!" said Alexandra Volgina, an HIV-positive activist from St. Petersburg.

Representatives from several non-governmental and community organizations along with people living with HIV/AIDS staged protests in Red Square and in front of the Ministry of Health following the Foundation's warning that the crisis will deepen once Russia is no longer eligible for funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The activists called on the government to act now to ensure that all Russians currently in need of HIV treatment receive it and to develop a plan to ensure continuity of treatment when the Global Fund program is phased out.

The call for justice for HIV-positive Russians will be echoed in New York City as world leaders come together for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Summit at the United Nations. "We stand in solidarity with the Russian activists fighting for their lives. A retreat on HIV treatment in Russia or across Africa is no way to reach the MDG goals," said Aditi Sharma, an activist from India, who will be participating in the Universal Access by 20-When March in New York on Monday.

Widespread drug stock-outs across Russia The disruption of the HIV drug supply is affecting many regions in the country, despite the 10 billion rubles (US $322 million) allocated to HIV treatment in the federal budget. Officials have proven unwilling or unable to arrange the timely supply of the essential drugs on which the lives of HIV-positive people depend.

The HIV activists call on their government to ensure continuity of antiretroviral therapy for HIV, including:

* Stop chaos in procurement of antiretroviral drugs in Russia and pay special attention to the planning of HIV drug supplies based on scientific assessment of number of people in need of treatment