“No, HIV isn’t about me. I can’t have something like that.” This is probably what each one of us thinks when we hear about HIV. But every day we rub shoulders with people who have been living with this serious disease for a long time and need our understanding and support. Ukraine now ranks first in Europe and sixth in the world in HIV/AIDS cases. While over 80,000 HIV-positive people and 8,000 AIDS victims are registered in our country, doctors say that these figures should be multiplied by 10.
Information is the only way to stop AIDS. On the eve of World AIDS Day (Dec. 1), the Kyiv Student Council, in cooperation with the NGO Sotsium XXI and the Kyiv City AIDS Center, organized an event called Life for Life to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among university students in Kyiv. Students were invited to take a free and confidential HIV test at their universities, in mobile labs sent to the universities by the municipal AIDS center.
“So many students came that technicians were taking blood samples from morning until night. At Bohomolets National Medical University over 150 students took advantage of the fast test. Volunteers conducted training and distributed informational literature and condoms. This is the third year we are doing this. Students used to have doubts about whether to get tested for HIV, but that’s in the past because now they understand that HIV does not mean death-this is just another way of living, when a person has to take better care of his or her health and the safety of others,” said Ihor Katsitadze, the coordinator of the Life for Life event.
The Kyiv City AIDS Center told The Day that these mass checkups do not yield many positive diagnoses. In 2006 they did not identify a single case of HIV at the National Medical University. In other Kyiv universities the picture is a little less rosy, but the worst thing is when an HIV-positive person is unaware of his or her condition.
“There are many people now who don’t know that they are HIV- positive. This is because many Ukrainians still cling to the notions that were circulated several years ago that AIDS affects only drug users, people who work in the sex industry, and promiscuous individuals. Now the situation has changed and HIV cases occur among well-to-do population groups,” said Olena Henis, the acting head of the Epidemiological Department at the Kyiv City AIDS Center.
Responding to The Day’s question about whether students who test positive for HIV can count on further confidentiality, Henis said that in their center patient confidentiality is strictly maintained because it is a crime to disclose patient information.
“A positive test is not a final verdict, not in the least. We suggest that patients take a number of other tests. Then, if the positive diagnosis is confirmed, we recommend registering at the clinic. Everything is confidential and a person can register under a false name, but of course it is better to leave your contact information because HIV requires constant monitoring of one’s health. If necessary, we prescribe retroviral therapy. HIV is not a death sentence: if you start treatment early, you can live a long and full life,” Henis said with conviction.
In addition to organizing the HIV testing and distributing information about AIDS, the organizers of Life for Life held a fund-raising party at the Forsazh night club in Kyiv and donated all the proceeds to HIV-positive children.
