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Stigma exacerbates rising HIV epidemic among Eastern European youth

Stigma exacerbates rising HIV epidemic among Eastern European youth

Alexandra, 17 months, stands in her crib in a UNICEF-assisted home for children in Kaliningrad, Russian Federation.
An underground HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is intensifying at an alarming pace, and the issue is being exacerbated by high levels of social stigma holding young people back from seeking treatment, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says in a new report.

An underground HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is intensifying at an alarming pace, and the issue is being exacerbated by high levels of social stigma holding young people back from seeking treatment, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says in a new report.

The agency warned that the increase is being fuelled by drug use and high-risk sexual behaviour, noting that marginalized young people are exposed daily to multiple risks, including drug use, commercial sex and other forms of exploitation and abuse, putting them at much higher risk of contracting HIV.

The publication found that the region is home to 3.7 million injecting drug users, almost one quarter of the world’s total, and for many, initiation into drug use begins in adolescence.

Existing health and social services, it found, are not tailored to young people at the greatest risk, and they are often exposed to moral judgment, recrimination and even criminal prosecution when they seek treatment and information on HIV.

“Children and adolescents living on the margins of society need access to health and social welfare services, not a harsh dose of disapproval,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director.

Medical and civil authorities, the agency said, must reach out and help young people living with HIV or who are at risk of infection by setting up non-judgmental, friendly services addressing the specialized needs of marginalized adolescents.

UNICEF cited the example of Russia, where more than 100 youth-friendly facilities have been established to provide reproductive and sexual health services, information, counselling and psychological support.

“We cannot break the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia without empowering and protecting children and adolescents,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

“We must not rob them of their childhoods,” he stressed.

A recent study carried out by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) found that many adults in the region living with HIV are afraid of the social stigma attached to seeking treatment more than they fear the disease, driving the epidemic further underground.

“We need to build an environment of trust and care, not one of judgment and exclusion,” Mr. Lake emphasized. “Only by reversing discrimination against people living with HIV can Eastern Europe and Central Asia begin to reverse the spread of the epidemic.”

The report’s release comes as an international gathering on the AIDS response is under way in Vienna.

At the start of the global XVIII International AIDS Conference yesterday, Mr. Sidibé spotlighted the strides made in the fight against HIV.

“The conspiracy of silence has been broken,” he said, adding that 5 million people “are alive because of treatment.” Additionally, infection rates have dropped 17 per cent since 2001.

But the UNAIDS chief expressed that he is “scared by what I see today,” with prevention models not having the anticipated results, some governments cracking down on vulnerable groups and costs on the rise.

Also voicing his concern over obstacles in conquering the epidemic was Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who underlined in a video message that “we must ensure that our recent gains are not reversed.”

He called for additional resources in areas that have “been neglected for far too long,” especially maternal health, and highlighted the strong ties between AIDS and efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2014 deadline.

“So let us say again,” Mr. Ban emphasized. “No new HIV infections. No more discrimination. No more AIDS-related deaths. Health and development for all.”