.jpg)
The Regional HIV/AIDS programme recently launched a special Regional Human Development Report on AIDS – The Human Cost of Social Exclusion. The report seeks to go beyond the numbers and describe the human face of the epidemic by showing the nature of HIV vulnerability in the region and proposing effective policy measures to overcome this increasingly urgent challenge. The primary issues addressed by the report are stigma, discrimination, social exclusion, and the basic rights to health, education and employment as they relate to HIV.
HIV is a growing challenge for the entire continent of Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Over the past few years western CIS countries have recorded some of the fastest growing rates of HIV infection in the world. The epidemic has reached critical levels in the Russia Federation and Ukraine, where infection rates have topped 1 percent of the adult population. The estimated number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and the CIS has grown from 630,000 in 2001 to 1.5 million as of 2007, which represents a 150 percent increase. Estimates of the number of new infections during 2007 range from 70,000 to 290,000. Furthermore, there were between 42,000 – 88,000 deaths due to AIDS in 2007 compared to 5,500 – 14,000 in 2001, which represents a substantial increase.
According to UNAIDS data, 87 percent of newly reported HIV cases in the region were from the Russian Federation (66 percent) and Ukraine (21 percent). Prevalence of HIV in Estonia has also topped 1 percent of the adult population. In Central Asia and the Caucasus, the number of newly reported HIV diagnoses is also rising, with Uzbekistan having the largest number of newly registered infections in Central Asia. The main driver of the epidemic in the region remains injecting drug use, however there has been a slower but more general growth of infections through sexual contacts.
Since relatively few people living with HIV in the region are visibly ill, the extent of the problem is not fully evident. Governments are however, slowly recognizing the urgency of the issue and the threat the disease poses to economic growth and national security. During the past few years, some leaders in the region have increased the emphasis that they place on HIV. Although, the level of resources available to address the epidemic has in general increased significantly, current approaches have many shortcomings in efficiency and effectiveness. Indeed, denial of the need for both immediate and long-term responses to the epidemic is still common in the region and high level political commitment is often lacking. Another prominent issue related to HIV in the region is one of constant discrimination and stigma towards people living with HIV and low public awareness especially among populations at higher risk.
UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. The HIV/AIDS unit at Bratislava focuses on a holistic approach towards HIV that encompasses HIV prevention, facilitating treatment access, care and support, and lessening the impact of AIDS. We strongly support the need of working with key populations at higher risk. Our staff and consultants provide technical support, often alongside financial support, to country offices in the region. They in turn provide technical and/or financial support to governments, non-governmental and community-based organizations in their countries and thus strengthen local skills and institutions.
Objectives of the programme
The Regional Programme on HIV/AIDS at the Bratislava Regional Centre was launched in 2004 with the main objective of providing quality services to Country offices in the region and supporting the development of effective national responses. The objectives of the programme reflect the UNAIDS co-sponsor division of labor and Global Task Team recommendations in which UNDP is recognized as the leading agency in the areas of HIV and human development, HIV and governance and HIV, human rights, gender and sexual diversity.
