(AP) – An international aid group urged Ukraine on Oct. 27 to combat the discrimination that HIV/AIDS patients suffer in this ex-Soviet republic.
Ukraine has one of the highest HIV infection rates in Eastern Europe, with the government saying 76,875 HIV-positive people have officially been registered since the first reported case in 1987. Some experts suggest that as many as 500,000 people – 1 percent of the population – are infected.
Zahedul Islam, local representative of Medecins Sans Frontieres, said the group has had success in the six years it has been in Ukraine. But he said too many HIV-infected people suffer discrimination and prejudice.
“To break through the stigma that still surrounds the disease is the only way to offer the patients good treatment and a dignified way of living,” Islam said.
Patients are often turned away by doctors when they seek help, and many doctors are reluctant to train as HIV specialists, leading to a shortage, the group said.
Other patients are reluctant to disclose their status and avoid centers that cater to HIV/AIDS patients, fearing losing their jobs or being alienated by society.
Experts say societal prejudices contribute to the underreporting of infected patients.
The group, known in English as Doctors Without Borders, plans to hand over its program to local authorities this year.
It has claimed some success stories, noting that the transmission of HIV/AIDS from pregnant women to their babies has been cut from 30 percent to 12 percent from 1999 to 2005.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to stop the disease rate,” said Larysa Bochkova, of Ukraine’s HIV/AIDS center.President Viktor Yushchenko warned earlier this week that 10 percent of the 47-million nation might die of AIDS by 2010 if the disease rate remains so high and people’s awareness so low.
