December 1 marked World AIDS Day. Countless events, conferences, and exhibits are held every year — then silence descends. In Ukraine, despite the fact that the numbers of HIV-infected people are steadily increasing, most people regard this virus as something remote, connected primarily with the African continent, or it has something to do with their unfortunate fellow countrymen, such as drug addicts, prostitutes, and homosexuals.
In reality, there is enough food for thought. Eighty percent of HIV cases in Ukraine are people aged between 20 and 39 — in other words, 6,500 young and able-bodied individuals are affected. Even now it is clear that HIV will deal the heaviest blow to Ukraine’s population. The economy will also suffer. A survey carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy shows that in 2014 the employed population index will be down by 9 percent. This is an optimistic forecast. Within nine years Ukraine will have 470,000 HIV-infected individuals, the GDP will decrease by 0.68 percent, and central budget revenue items will be short 537 million hryvnias. An even more pessimistic prognosis says that by 2014 a total of 820,000 Ukrainians will be HIV-infected; budget revenue items will be short 933 million hryvnias, with expenditures up by 2.6 billion. This doesn’t take into account pension and welfare funds’ losses. Obviously, there is no way to avoid such losses. Special programs and medications for HIV-infected citizens are primarily the responsibility of the state. A yearly course of antiretroviral treatment per patient costs $10,000.
Obviously, an optimistic prognosis is possible only if a breakthrough is made right now. As it is, Ukraine ranks first in Europe in the rate of HIV infections. National programs and projects have been created and international organizations are helping us. However, experts insist that the effectiveness of these measures is low. A degree of success has been registered only in the realm of medicine; our experience in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission is being studied by the rest of the world. Yet our physicians are shouldering only 10 percent of the problems. Experts are convinced that the other problems must be solved by educators, journalists, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and generally by everyone who wants to live in an AIDS-free society.
Statistics demonstrate eloquently how Ukraine is struggling against the HIV onslaught. According to a report submitted by Transatlantic Partners Against Aids, a mere 15 percent of injection addicts are covered by preventive treatment programs; 98 percent of Ukrainian adults have no idea about voluntary HIV consulting and testing. There are practically no training and educational programs. As a result, only 14 percent of young Ukrainians know about AIDS-prevention techniques; only every third Ukrainian citizen knows how AIDS is transmitted.
A poll carried out by a business coalition showed that only 6 percent of companies believe that the spread of HIV is actually a problem; 86 percent of employees say that, unlike alcoholism, the AIDS epidemic has no effect on their company’s revenues; every fifth respondent says that s/he sees nothing terrible about HIV. Ukrainians thus need to be educated.
Europe has decided to lend us a hand. Healthy lifestyle textbooks have been published as part of a new project called “Upgrading Intersectoral Approaches to HIV-AIDS Prevention Measures for Youth.” The experts involved in this project believe that HIV prevention courses must be taught in all schools. The above-mentioned survey indicates that neither schoolteachers nor parents are actually prepared to openly discuss HIV prevention with teenagers.
Quite a few teenagers feel isolated from their families and school. Many of them distrust adults because they do not pay enough attention to their needs and problems. Thus, about two- thirds of teenagers 15 years and older are not satisfied with the kind of health information they receive, primarily because of incompetent sources. In addition, much of the theoretical information they do get frightens them instead of providing practical preparedness.
Moreover, an analysis of the situation has revealed a number of weak points in the monitoring system, concrete indices that illustrate the effectiveness of projects or learning programs. It is no secret that Ukraine has always had difficulties with such indicators. We now have a system of such indices; the EU is also supplying Ukraine with required resources, such as computers and special programs. Only 27 percent of Kharkiv oblast schoolteachers know how to operate a computer. A mere 28 percent of Ukrainian schools have computers. However, it is anyone’s guess whether the students have free access to them. In some cases, there is one computer for as many as 107 users.
Ukraine does not have a strategy for fighting HIV. The authors of the EU project are convinced that this is our biggest problem. Ministries and departments, agencies, civic organizations, and donors must join efforts; only then will Ukraine achieve concrete results. According to the experts, a network of anonymous youth consulting centers should be created, so that young people can visit them and receive answers to their most intimate questions. The EU project regards training centers as a useful initiative. We are also receiving help to equip them. In general, Ukrainians, especially our youth, must be taught a healthy lifestyle. How can this be achieved? There are many options, but the main thing is for all these investments and endeavors to have an effect.
Another thing we must be taught is a tolerant attitude to HIV-infected individuals. The results of surveys carried out at different periods and in various regions point to approximately the same conclusion: our society rejects HIV-infected people. Practically every member of the benevolent association “All-Ukraine Network of People Living with HIV” has encountered “manifestations of discrimination and stigmatization” — at least this is what these people say. Topping the list of those who discriminate are physicians and nurses. “I had just told them about my status when they instantly found a dozen reasons why they couldn’t help me at this medical institution,” says Iryna, an HIV-positive patient. “They claimed that there are clinics for HIV patients, but here doctors have neither time nor the necessary medications.” Another standing practice is firing HIV-infected personnel. Daycare center and school administrations also refuse to accept children of HIV-infected parents.
Experts believe that lack of knowledge is the reason behind the present situation. Various surveys indicate that one-third of Ukrainians are still convinced that HIV is transmitted through air.
