Russia's Putin:Society Must Work Harder To Fight HIV/AIDS
(Haha - bad boy - stop having sex - cut it off - HAHA)
MOSCOW (AP)--President Vladimir Putin Friday called on the government and society to work harder to fight the spread of HIV, saying AIDS is affecting young Russians at a pace that threatens the nation's well being.
Putin told top federal and regional officials experts believe the true number of people with HIV may be significantly higher than the official figure of more than 342,000, and that most of those with the virus are under 30.
"This already could have a negative influence on the demographic situation, and that is particularly worrisome," Putin said. "The situation is alarming and demands not a contemplative but an active attitude from society."
He said the fight against AIDS can only be effective if various government ministries and agencies work together, and called for "constant and persistent" effort to ensure Russians, particularly in high-risk groups, are aware of the danger of HIV.
"So far there is no general strategy for such work," he said, adding private businesses, political parties and civic organizations should help with funding and organization.
AIDS has recently spread at a devastating pace in Russia due to weak anti-drug and prevention programs, as well as growing drug use.
However, Putin said a five-year anti-HIV/AIDS program that ends this year had cut the number of new HIV cases from 88,000 in 2001 to 33,000 last year. He said the government plans to spend 3.1 billion rubles ($112.8 million) on fighting AIDS under a special "national project" on health care, but the time period for the outlays was unclear.
Putin spoke a day after the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, criticized Western-funded programs aimed at combatting HIV and AIDS in a letter to the president, calling them immoral and inconsistent with Russian culture and saying they promote Western pharmaceutical companies' contraceptives.
Also week, Moscow's city legislature urged Putin to restrict the activity of foreign non-governmental organizations involved in anti-AIDS programs, accusing them of fueling rather than helping to stem the epidemic.
Putin's figure for Russians registered as HIV-positive was slightly lower than the 355,000 given a day earlier by the head of the Federal AIDS Center, Vadim Pokrovsky.
Experts believe the true number is more than 1 million.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2006 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT) |
