Russia HIV infection rise bucks trend as World AIDS Day marked

MOSCOW — On a frigid evening on the outskirts of Moscow, two HIV-prevention activists unzip backpacks, pull out packs of hypodermic needles and start discreetly approaching people leaving a nearby pharmacy with an offer that could save their lives.

So-called harm reduction programs — which distribute clean needles and condoms as well as provide methadone substitution therapy — are shown to reduce the spread of diseases such as HIV.

[...] the Russian government has refused to fund such initiatives, saying this approach to treatment enables addicts to continue living their dangerous lifestyle.

“We know we can’t reach everyone and you can’t force anyone to stop using, but at least this provides the tools people need to reduce the spread of diseases,” said Lena Groznova, who has been participating in the Andrey Rylkov Foundation’s outreach program for the past three years.

In 2009, Russia was supposed to take over the work of one of the major HIV prevention and treatment donors, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria, which operates exclusively in low-income countries and no longer considers Russia eligible based on this criterion.

Sexual education programs in schools, also widely believed to slow the spread of HIV, have also been shot down by conservative government officials who say they promote sexual activity among children.