In Ukraine, only 158 men who have sex with men (MSM) have registered officially as living with HIV since the country’s first case was reported 20 years ago – in a country with a population of 46 million. Compare this to more than 38,000 officially reported cases of HIV infection among MSM in Britain between 2002 and 2006 alone, according to a UNAIDS feature article. Understandably, health experts and activists believe official statistics from Ukraine, as well as much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, are deceptively low for MSM living with HIV and with newly acquired infections.
Why the underreporting? In Ukraine and throughout the region, the stigma attached to MSM prevents many from reporting their sexual orientation. Many would rather admit to being a drug user. Since the problem is estimated to be much larger, stronger prevention programs are needed for this marginalized group of men. Another factor worsening the situation is that governments in the region are reluctant to implement prevention programs geared toward the group. Take Russia, for example, who has no state-funded HIV prevention programs for MSM. Instead, programs are run by NGOs funded by international donors.
Responding to demands from the local MSM community and international donors, the Ukrainian government recently took a step in the right direction when it agreed to set targets for HIV prevention and treatment for MSM in its National AIDS Program for 2009-2013. Other countries in the region should follow Ukraine’s lead in acknowledging the HIV epidemic among MSM, and ending discrimination by implementing effective programs to reduce HIV transmission.
To read the full article on the UNAIDS website, click here
See also:
The most severe HIV epidemic in Europe: Ukraine’s national HIV prevalence estimates 2007 – BMJ, 2008
Helping the Hidden Community of HIV – TIME, Aug 2008
Ukraine HIV/AIDS Profile – USAID, Sept 2008