The army will be protected

Ukraine’s military forces gather the strongest and healthiest people in the nation. But the AIDS epidemic has now reached its ranks: since the disease began spreading in Ukraine, more than 400 military men have been diagnosed as HIV/AIDS-positive. The formal opening of the HIV-Diagnostic Centre — the first one for the Ukrainian army — was recently held at the Military Forces Health Center.

The opening of the center was made possible by outside help: this is a project within the joint program of the defense ministries of Ukraine and the US. As US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary William Taylor acknowledged in his speech, the Ukrainian side was required only to provide staffing for the center. The financial side will be taken care of by the US — $700,000 from the American defense ministry. Similar centers will be opened soon in all medical establishments in Odesa, Lviv, and Symferopil.

Ambassador Taylor pointed out that the AIDS problem, which is also affecting the military, also exists in the US. “The state’s main state task is to acknowledge the problem’s existence,” said the ambassador. “If this is not done, no further steps will be possible, and unfortunately, this is happening in many countries.”

Such steps, according to the ambassador, mean active and effective preventive measures among the population: it is prevention that stops new cases of infection. Then, all the state has to do is treat people who have already become infected, according to world standards.

The new diagnostic centre has a comfortable reception and a treatment room. Posters proclaiming “Do you know about AIDS?” hang in the corridor. The center is where people come to talk and do voluntary blood testing to identify the presence of antibodies. Nobody knows yet whether antiretroviral therapy will be given to infected people.

Of course, 400 HIV-positive military men is not a large number over several years. According to national statistics, there are tens of thousands of infected people in Ukraine. However, both military men and civilians should be on the alert. Doctors say that the percentage of hidden infections among the population may be higher than detected cases. Thus, preventive measures concern all Ukrainians. If a person is in a risk group, testing can be done anonymously in more than 30 diagnostic centers in all large cities of Ukraine.