Russian group gets award for action on HIV/AIDS.Montreal -- Russia's Humanitarian Action Fund received the 2005 Award for Action on HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Human Rights. Humanitarian Action, based in Saint Petersburg, offered the first HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. prevention programs for vulnerable populations in Russia, beginning in 1995, when the government barely acknowledged HIV/AIDS in the country. Since then, Humanitarian Action's programs have served as a model in the country for such programs as syringe exchange for drug users, outreach to street-based sex workers, and medical services for street children. Heroin injection remains a key driver of HIV/AIDS in Russia According to the international AIDS charity AVERT, Russia has the largest HIV epidemic in Europe, and also accounts for approximately two-thirds of the cases in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. , but government policies have been hostile to opiate opiate /opi·ate/ (o´pe-it) 1. any drug derived from opium. 2. hypnotic (2). o·pi·ate n. 1. substitution therapy, a central element of HIV prevention in most countries. Humanitarian Action has advocated for the human rights of drug users in Russia, and has a continuing dialogue with the police about the importance of allowing HIV prevention services to operate. The World Health Organization recently decided to include methadone methadone (mĕth`ədōn', –dŏn'), synthetic narcotic similar in effect to morphine. Synthesized in Germany, it came into clinical use after World War II. It is sometimes used as an analgesic and to suppress the cough reflex. on its widely consulted Essential Drug List. Russia is home to some of the world's most repressive drug laws. A 2004 Human Rights Watch reported harassment and abuse towards drug users when they try to use the few HIV prevention services that are available. 514-777-3470 |
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