AIDS in Russia: Immune to reason
Russia’s contempt for effective drug and HIV policies is killing its citizens
The Economist (UK)
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Saturday, October 1, 2016
The Soviet Union began reporting HIV in 1987, and the virus took off in Russia in the early 2000s, mostly among intravenous (IV) drug users. Dirty needles remain the primary means of infection. But with more new transmissions through heterosexual sex, doctors warn that HIV may threaten the general population. Bad policies and neglect have fed the epidemic. Russia has eschewed the kind of sex-education and drug policies that have been shown to work elsewhere. Harsh anti-drug laws keep users in the shadows. Methadone and other forms of non-injected opioid substitution therapy (OST) are illegal.
tags:
