2002 to be declared year of combating AIDS in Ukraine

“We are proceeding from small steps to global actions.” This phrase was repeated more than once at last Wednesday press conference devoted to participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the special session of the UN General Assembly on the problems of HIV/AIDS. As The Day has previously reported, the session was initiated precisely by Ukraine which sent the second largest delegation, after the US, to this forum. Each member state submitted what may be called a report on the HIV/AIDS situation, as well as a draft declaration that calls for the concerted efforts of countries in combating what has been called the plague of the twentieth century (with so far no grounds for optimism in the new century). The 189 UN member states jointly drew up and signed a Declaration on the Desire to Combat HIV/AIDS. It will be recalled that some international commitments to control the virus have already been made, among them, the Caribbean Partnership against HIV, the Action Program of the European Union, and the Declaration on the Prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Baltic Region. The just-signed document is unique in that 189 countries drafted for the first time a joint plan of combating the virus, which already gives some guarantee of its successful implementation. In addition to preventive and actual treatment and protection of the rights of the HIV-infected, which has recently been the subject of debates on various levels, the declaration also includes such a narrow and totally undeveloped aspect as assistance to HIV-infected children and those who have just been touched by this problem. This assistance implies counseling, psychological support, and constant control of whether these children receive high-quality medical care, have housing, and go to school. In addition, the document calls for specific measures to check epidemics in regions stricken by conflicts and natural disasters. On the other hand, the document’s international nature does not make it possible to describe measures to be taken against drug addicts and prostitutes, which raised objections from the Islamic states.

Of course, the very fact of this document being signed is quite a serious step, but still more important is its implementation. The UN is initiating the establishment of the Global HIV/AIDS Control Fund with an annual budget of 7-10 billion dollars. It is planned to earmark 50% of this money for containing the current epidemic in African countries, where every third inhabitant is a HIV-carrier. Moreover, a considerable role in “making the dream come true” is being played by multi-sector national strategies which take account of the specific mentality and socioeconomic situation in a country. Ukraine promised to approve its strategy by July 20, while the next year will be declared by presidential decree the year of combating AIDS in Ukraine. Naturally, such energy and inexhaustible enthusiasm in this field is very encouraging, for AIDS is a social, rather than medical, problem. This, however, calls into question the possibility of keeping the promises to cut the share of HIV-infected infants by 20% in 2005 and by 50% in 2010, while the national medical infrastructure is facing very acute problems. For it is an open secret that the HIV-infected in Ukraine are deprived not only of expensive medicines but are often not supplied even with common painkillers and antibiotics.