Radio personality taken off the air for nasty gay remark
RamRod Sword of Baal
Bibon
<RamR...@truthonly.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8ef7f4e7-65ba-4311-b656-3592a25da876
Of course,. Canada is a homosexually dominated country now.
One can be fined and imprisoned for speaking critically of or not
supporting homosexuals.
“You Can’t Say That”
Canadian thought police on the march.
By David E. Bernstein
"...it has apparently become illegal in Canada to advocate traditional
Christian opposition to homosexual sex. For example, the Saskatchewan
Human Rights Commission ordered the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and Hugh
Owens to each pay $1,500 to each of three gay activists as damages for
publication of an advertisement, placed by Owens, which conveyed the
message that the Bible condemns homosexual acts.
In another incident, after Toronto print-shop owner Scott Brockie
refused on religious grounds to print letterhead for a gay-activist
group, the local human-rights commission ordered him to pay the group
$5,000, print the requested material, and apologize to the group's
leaders. Brockie, who always accepted print jobs from individual gay
customers, and even did pro-bono work for a local AIDS group, is
fighting the decision on religious-freedom grounds.
(...)
A great deal more censorship in Canada seems inevitable. For example,
British Columbia's extremely broad hate-speech law prohibits the
publication of any statement that "indicates" discrimination or that
is "likely" to expose a person or group or class of persons to hatred
or contempt. The Canadian thought police are on the march. Hopefully,
it is not too late to stop them.
— David E. Bernstein is a professor of law at George Mason University
and the author of You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil
Liberties from Anti-Discrimination Laws.
enquiring mind
>
> On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:56:07 GMT, "RamRod Sword of Baal"
> <RamR...@truthonly.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> >http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8ef7f4e7-65ba-4311-b656-3592a25da876
>
>
> Of course,. Canada is a homosexually dominated country now.
> One can be fined and imprisoned for speaking critically of or not
> supporting homosexuals.
>
> “You Can’t Say That”
>
> Canadian thought police on the march.
>
> By David E. Bernstein
>
> "...it has apparently become illegal in Canada to advocate traditional
> Christian opposition to homosexual sex. For example, the Saskatchewan
> Human Rights Commission ordered the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and Hugh
> Owens to each pay $1,500 to each of three gay activists as damages for
> publication of an advertisement, placed by Owens, which conveyed the
> message that the Bible condemns homosexual acts.
>
> In another incident, after Toronto print-shop owner Scott Brockie
> refused on religious grounds to print letterhead for a gay-activist
> group, the local human-rights commission ordered him to pay the group
> $5,000, print the requested material, and apologize to the group's
> leaders. Brockie, who always accepted print jobs from individual gay
> customers, and even did pro-bono work for a local AIDS group, is
> fighting the decision on religious-freedom grounds.
>
again no details.
> (...)
>
> A great deal more censorship in Canada seems inevitable. For example,
> British Columbia's extremely broad hate-speech law prohibits the
> publication of any statement that "indicates" discrimination or that
> is "likely" to expose a person or group or class of persons to hatred
> or contempt. The Canadian thought police are on the march. Hopefully,
> it is not too late to stop them.
>
Again Canada is a free country but expressing hatred for another group
of people
is illegal be it women jews, racial or religious people in the
mainstream or minorities.
No One
> Bibon wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:56:07 GMT, "RamRod Sword of Baal"
> > In another incident, after Toronto print-shop owner Scott Brockie
> > refused on religious grounds to print letterhead for a gay-activist
> > group, the local human-rights commission ordered him to pay the group
> > $5,000, print the requested material, and apologize to the group's
> > leaders. Brockie, who always accepted print jobs from individual gay
> > customers, and even did pro-bono work for a local AIDS group, is
> > fighting the decision on religious-freedom grounds.
>
> again no details.
> > (...)
Of course there are no details. :-)
> > A great deal more censorship in Canada seems inevitable. For example,
> > British Columbia's extremely broad hate-speech law prohibits the
> > publication of any statement that "indicates" discrimination or that
> > is "likely" to expose a person or group or class of persons to hatred
> > or contempt. The Canadian thought police are on the march. Hopefully,
> > it is not too late to stop them.
> >
> Again Canada is a free country but expressing hatred for another group
> of people
> is illegal be it women jews, racial or religious people in the
> mainstream or minorities.
Furthermore, if people could use some trumped up excuse, whether
religious beliefs or what have you, to ban customers belonging to
minorities, members of a sufficienctly unpopular minority would have
trouble with mere survival. You would literally not be able to live
in a town if, for example, no grocery store within two hundred miles
of your home was willing to sell you anything.
It is reasonable to require businesses to obey non-discrimination
laws. Otherwise people could literally be forced out of their
homes merely due to the bigotry of others.
Bibon
wrote:
BULL SHIT. Most business are interested in making a profit not
displaying morals. Why do you think some, i.e., Walmart are trying
to suck up to homosexuals? It's sure as fuck not because they like
you...They just want your money, fuck-wit.
No One
Going around once again calling people "gay" and getting beligerent
when you read something you don't like? So, you get the canned
response about who and what you are:
Bibon (aka Bill Taylor) is a bigot who posts regularly on a variety of
newsgroups, and is noted for his lack of manners, his hatred, his
dishonesty, and a characteristic redneck patois that creeps in every
so often. Of course, he denies his real identity (and the large number
of aliases he's used).
See Message-ID <n5tn72l8p74cfv8vc...@4ax.com> for a post
in which bibon accidentally identified himself as Bill Taylor and
Message ID <m3d5dvp...@nospam.pacbell.net> for details about how
he identified himself. Basically, he claimed that "Bill Taylor" never
received a phone call from some individual, something only "Bill
Taylor" could know, with the phone number in question belonging to
"our" "Bill Taylor". Others, of course, have reached the same
conclusion.
The really interesting question is why he is so sensitive about "Bill
Taylor" so much more so than all his other numerous identities. :-)
Some of his rantings are just comical. For example,
in Message ID <2iell25bqiqgv16ir...@4ax.com>, one of
Bill Taylor's aliases "bi...@ralent.org (with a '^' over the 'a')
posted an inadvertent admission that he is gay enough to hire a
male prostitute (whether or not he intended to say that).
However, he's shown his dishonesty time and time again. For one
example, in Message ID <skmio2d2lukbv2gkt...@4ax.com>,
Bill Taylor (aka bibon) was caught forging headers,changing "LC" to
"LA" and "LB" in headers he cut and pasted to pretend that "LC" was
posting under multiple identities. You can cross check this claim by
using Google to search for the message IDs. LC's post with Message ID
<embji...@enews1.newsguy.com> was attributed by Bill Taylor to "LA"
(but Taylor suppressed part of the message ID by giving it as
<embjhn02...@enews1.newsguy.com> to make tracing it difficult).
He also doesn't learn even when called on his behavior. In Message ID
<016tu2d0ksk24dsuc...@4ax.com>, bibon (aka Bill Taylor)
pretends a phrase in quotes was written in
<87ps7kj...@nospam.pacbell.net> yet it does not appear there
(<87ps7kj...@nospam.pacbell.net> is the message ID of the post
that he was responding to, as is clear from the headers for his post).
In message ID <dp22v21m779nvfjdc...@4ax.com> he tried to
cover it up by claiming it wasa "mistake", even though the "mistake"
occurred in quoted text (lines starting with '>') that were
automatically inserted by his newsreader. His claim of a "mistake"
is as believable as "my dog ate my homework". Then in a post with
message ID <s4d4v29mamrmrstji...@4ax.com>, he tried
to pretend that he had merely snipped a post incorrectly, even
though the text in question never was in the one he quoted.
Such behavior gives zero credibility to any statment Bill Taylor (aka
bibon, aka ...) makes. You really have to wonder about someone who
would post such a lie when it is so easily checked: just go to
<http://groups.google.com/advanced_search?q=&> and copy a message ID
(do not include the '<' and '>') in the search string at the bottom of
the page, and click the "Lookup Message" button to find an original
post.
Death
"enquiring mind" <"enquiring mind"@braindead.com> wrote in message >
>
again no details.
>
Again Canada is a free country but expressing hatred for another group
of people
is illegal be it women jews, ...
`````````````````````````````````````````
male anti-semitic
That is hateful and intolerant
James Riske
The Canadian laws are just another example of where faggots will claim
they are not seeking special rights and privileges but being a minority
automatically grants them special rights and privileges.
--
"The anus is so etched onto the minds of homosexuals that even mental
illness does not prevent them from focusing on it." -- Erik Holland
ScottyFLL
> On 13 Mar 2007 19:54:21 -0700, No One <n...@nospam.pacbell.net>
I think you meant "e.g.". Unless Walmart, your favorite clothing
store, is the ONLY business you're talking about.
> Walmart are trying
> to suck up to homosexuals? It's sure as fuck not because they like
> you...They just want your money, fuck-wit.
And in an effort to get our money, they change their policies, and in
changing their policies, the business culture changes, and when the
business culture changes, laws get changed, and when laws get changed,
suddenly gay people are getting married legally.
:-)
Get back in your cage, Baboon.
ScottyFLL
> enquiring mind wrote:
> > Bibon wrote:
> >> On Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:56:07 GMT, "RamRod Sword of Baal"
>
> >>>http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8ef7f4e7-65b...
Oh, well. Too late now! :-)
Bernard Hubbard
"James Riske" <james...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:pjpuc.e...@news.alt.net...
Listen Bubble-head! The Canadian laws are not PRO anything rather they are
ANTI hate speech, something which you Americans do not believe in, as you
believe in a system where-by anybody can say whatever they like about
another person and claim it is 'Freedom of Speech'. America is to be
congratulated on bringing 'Freedom of Speech' to the world, but as usual
there are faults in the laws and everybody is too frightened to bring them
up-to-date like most of the Western world has.
>
>
> --
> "The anus is so etched onto the minds of homosexuals that even mental
> illness does not prevent them from focusing on it." -- Erik Holland
Berbard Hubbard
No One
> "James Riske" <james...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:pjpuc.e...@news.alt.net...
<snip>
> Listen Bubble-head! The Canadian laws are not PRO anything rather
> they are ANTI hate speech, something which you Americans do not
> believe in, as you believe in a system where-by anybody can say
> whatever they like about another person and claim it is 'Freedom of
> Speech'. America is to be congratulated on bringing 'Freedom of
> Speech' to the world, but as usual there are faults in the laws and
> everybody is too frightened to bring them up-to-date like most of the
> Western world has.
Not quite true - you can't say antyhing you like about another person
and get away with it: freedom of speach does not protect one against
a lawsuit for libel (the standard for libel is higher for public
officials, but for good reason: if some citizen rants about the
prez doing something illegal with the CIA, you don't want the citizen
to get into trouble because it was the NSA instead of the CIA).
While we really don't have hate speach laws, we do have hate crime
laws and it is not legal to threaten someone: you can't, for example,
call someone an XXX and threaten to kill the person.
Death
"Bernard Hubbard" <berna...@westnet.com> wrote in message
>
> Listen Bubble-head! The Canadian laws are not PRO anything
Then goes on to state other-wise in the next line,
>rather they are
> ANTI hate speech,
obviously prof is full of shit.
Bernard Hubbard
--
"The homosexuality is so etched onto the mind of Jimbo Riske that even
mental
illness does not prevent him from focusing on it." --Bernard Hubbard
" Death" <De...@yourdoor.net> wrote in message
news:WNSLh.20005$Wc....@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
Obviously Death darling cannot tell the difference between pro and anti.
Death
"Bernard Hubbard" <berna...@westnet.com> wrote in message
> " Death" <De...@yourdoor.net> wrote in message
> >
> > "Bernard Hubbard" <berna...@westnet.com> wrote in message
> >>
> >> Listen Bubble-head! The Canadian laws are not PRO anything
> >
> > Then goes on to state other-wise in the next line,
> >
> >>rather they are
> >> ANTI hate speech,
> >
> > obviously prof is full of shit.
>
> Obviously Death darling cannot tell the difference between pro and anti.
>
They are pro, anti-hate speech, obviously.
Death
> "The anus is so etched onto the minds of homosexuals that even mental
> illness does not prevent them from focusing on it." -- Erik Holland
AVERT - AVERTing HIV and AIDSAVERT, Averting HIV and AIDSAVERT is an international AIDS charity
avert.org - bringing you information on HIV & AIDS
donate hereAbout AVERT and AVERT.orgsite guide help & advice contact us about AVERT home
Sections of the siteAfrica
http://www.avert.org/ecstatee.htm
A map of the region covered in this page (only part of Russia is shown)
The region discussed in this page includes 17 countries, stretching from Estonia down to
Bulgaria, across to Russia, and south as far as Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Armenia.
This is a large region and Russia alone is roughly twice the size of the USA. Although the
region is large the population is less so; the population of Russia is less than half that of
the US.
This region was home to around 1.5 million people living with HIV at the end of 2005.
Countries
Russia
Russia has the largest HIV epidemic in Europe, and accounts for around two-thirds of the cases
in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. There were an estimated 940,000 people living
with HIV at the end of 2005 in Russia - up from 760,000 in 2003 - and this figure looks set to
increase even further.1
The number of new HIV diagnoses being reported is falling however, with 88,577 new cases
reported in 2001, 52,349 in 2002 and 39,699 in 2003. This reduction could be due to fewer
people being tested, or it could be that HIV prevalence rates have reached saturation point
amongst injecting drug users.
There are 12 regions in Russia, including the major cities of Saint Petersburg and Moscow,
where HIV prevalence rates are said to be ‘above high’, and a further 11 with high prevalence
rates.2
Scenes from Russia: the bleak landscape is a contrast to the famous image of St. Basil's
Cathedral in Moscow
Ukraine
In Ukraine ten years ago there were 183 registered cases of HIV; by mid-2004 there were more
than 68,000. UNAIDS estimates that in addition there were probably many more unregistered cases
over that period. Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV in
Ukraine.3
As in Russia there are many injecting drug users (IDUs) in Ukraine. A 2002 survey of 212 IDUs
in the region found needle re-use was widespread and condom use was low. However the same study
found that many of those IDUs who knew they were HIV positive were found to be abstaining from
sex or using condoms.4
Central Asia
Central Asia contains Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Throughout this area HIV epidemics are growing fast. In 1995 there were almost no reported
cases in the region.5 However, from 2003 to 2005 the UNAIDS estimate of the number of people
living with HIV infection more than doubled from around 24,000 to around 57,000.6
This region contains major drug trafficking routes between Russia and Europe, resulting in
large amounts of injecting drug use. Indeed, in some parts of the region heroin is now said to
be cheaper than alcohol.7
The Baltic States
The Baltic States consist of those countries in the north of Eastern Europe: Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania. Although overall numbers of infections remain low, HIV is spreading at an
alarming rate in the Baltic States. Between 2000 and 2001 there was a large increase in the
number of new reported HIV cases, from 921 to 2,353, the majority of which were reported in
Estonia. Between 2001 and 2003 however the number of cases reported dropped considerably with
Estonia and Latvia virtually halving their cases over the two-year period.8 This could be due
to fewer infections, or to changes in reporting methods.
The Caucasus
The three countries between the Black and Caspian Seas - Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan - have
much lower HIV prevalence rates than Russia. However the estimated number of people living with
the virus in Azerbaijan grew from 1,400 in 2003 to 5,400 in 2005, and there is a high potential
for explosive epidemic growth in all three countries. Some cities already have very high rates
of HIV infection among injecting drug users.9
The impact of AIDS on countries
Countries such as Russia and Ukraine have a population that is getting older with declining
birth rates. As HIV is mainly affecting the young in these parts the number of young people
will be further reduced; this may result in many pensioners with few wage earners and a
shrinking population as the elderly naturally die. It is estimated in Russia that GDP,
investment and labour supply will all decline between now and 2020 unless there is an increase
in effective HIV prevention.10 The deputy prime minister of Russia, Alexander Zhukov, has
stated that ‘the growth of AIDS has gone beyond a medical problem, and has become an issue of
strategic, social and economic security of the country’.11
At the other end of the scale, in Central Asian countries, there is a high birth rate. An
increase in AIDS related deaths here could result in many children being orphaned.
Children
A child in Russia made this Stop AIDS poster during a lesson attended by AVERT director Annabel
The Romanian communist government in the 1980s believed that blood transfusions helped people
to keep healthy and administered them unnecessarily to children in orphanages. Although these
transfusions were thought to boost the immune system, ironically some of them were contaminated
with HIV. In addition many of the nurses reused vaccination needles, further aiding the spread
of the virus.
Today, whilst Romania has relatively low rates of HIV, it still has the highest rate of
HIV/AIDS among children in Europe. There were reported to be 6,500 people living with HIV in
Romania at the end of 2003 and the majority of these were said to be children.12
The AIDS orphans are often stigmatized. Families are not always happy about AIDS orphans being
integrated into the community and do not want them playing with their own children.13
Fortunately, almost all children are receiving treatment and Romania now holds the world’s
largest paediatric AIDS clinic treating 600 patients with antiretroviral drugs.14
Discrimination against children affected by HIV is widespread elsewhere in the region as well.
Each day on average two babies born to HIV-postive women in Russia are abandoned by their
mothers. Although orphanages are legally obliged to accept these infants, fear and prejudice
result in many of them being isolated in hospital wards for months or even years.15
Drugs, sex and HIV
There are a number of issues occurring today in this region which contribute to the spread of
HIV.
Drug use
A large number of people throughout this region use drugs, especially injecting drugs. For
example, in Russia roughly 2% of the population - 2 million people - are IDUs.16 Since
unauthorised possession of needles and syringes is illegal in much of this region, many drug
users are compelled to share needles. In addition, reports suggest that it is sometimes
actually considered rude in Russia not to share needles when taking drugs.17 An estimated
30-40% of injecting drug users in Russia use non-sterile needles or syringes.18
Non-sterile needles combined with poor health care, fear amongst drug users of using available
health care, and sharing of needles, have all led to the spread of HIV amongst this group. In
the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, one in four street drug users was found to be HIV positive.19
Many of those using drugs are young, and consequently HIV affects many young people in this
region, with more than 80% of those infected aged under 30.20
Sex workers
There are many sex workers operating throughout this region. A large number of these are
working in exchange for drugs or in order to get money for drugs. One study in Moscow found
that many sex workers also injected drugs using non-sterile injecting equipment and of this
group 45% were HIV positive.21
Sex workers are also engaging in sexual relations on a regular basis and may or may not use
protection. Even if they do use condoms with clients, they may not with their regular partners,
and this factor, combined with the potential for contracting HIV from sharing needles, makes
them a high risk group who can easily contribute to the spread of HIV.
Prison conditions
Prisons in this area are often very overcrowded and unsanitary, with some Romanian prisons
having up to a 700% occupation rate.22 Many of those imprisoned are IDUs, put in prison simply
because they use illegal drugs. Of these people a majority continue to use drugs in prison and
to share needles, and there is also unprotected sex between men. This leads to the spread of
HIV amongst the prisoners.
The spread of HIV
The diagram below shows some of the main ways the groups described interact, increasing the
spread of HIV. It shows the following scenarios:
Prisoners contracting HIV in prison can infect partners, drug users they share needles with,
and sex workers with whom they have unprotected sex.
Sex workers are vulnerable to HIV from having unprotected sex with clients, partners and from
sharing needles.
Partners of people who have become infected with HIV from sharing needles or unprotected sex
with sex workers can go on to infect other partners, who may fall into none of the assumed
“high risk” categories.
Some of the main ways in which HIV can be spread
In actual fact the situation is much more complex than this; there are many more scenarios, and
many people fall into more than one group. This existing combination of a thriving sex trade,
high levels of drug use and unprotected sex means it may be easy for HIV to continue to spread
in certain regions throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia unless appropriate prevention
methods are in place and being acted on.
Women
Sexual transmission of HIV is increasing in the most affected areas of Russia. Heterosexual
infection has grown from 5.3% of all infections in 2001 to 20% in 2003. In Ukraine 40% of those
infected with HIV are women. When more women are infected, more babies are born with HIV as
well.
In 1998, 125 cases of pregnant women in Russia with HIV were reported, whereas in 2003 there
were 3,531 cases. In total there have been 9,000 reported cases of babies being born with HIV
in Russia up to and including 2003. In Ukraine however there are many programmes in place to
prevent mother-to-child transmission and the percentage of babies born with HIV fell from 27%
in 2001 to 12% in 2003.23
Prevention and education
European countries pledged to ensure universal access to treatment and care by 2005 across the
whole of Europe and Central Asia and aimed to make sure 80% of ‘high-risk’ people have access
to prevention services by 2010. At the end of 2004 however, only a small percentage of
‘high-risk’ people were being reached by prevention programmes24 and in Russia in April 2005,
Cesar Chelala, an international public health consultant, stated that prevention efforts were
almost nonexistent. On a positive note, in Central Asia a prevention project has been launched
which will train medical workers and other people, and it is thought this and other treatment
and prevention programmes could make a real difference in the area.25
In 2004 a survey was conducted in Moscow which found that 70% of people interviewed felt ‘fear,
anger or disgust towards those living with the virus’.26 Similarly, a survey in Samara Oblast
found that ignorance and discrimination were widespread, even among health workers and family
members. Many people were afraid that they could acquire HIV through casual contact; some
suggested isolating all infected people from the rest of the population.27
In order to help change these types of negative attitudes a poster campaign was launched by
UNAIDS and a Russian community group in 2004 featuring famous paintings alongside slogans such
as ‘HIV is NOT transmitted through sport’.28 Ukraine launched its own public information
campaign in September 2005 with a World Bank backed television advert being shown daily for
three months highlighting the fact that 8 Ukrainians die of AIDS every day.29
Harm reduction
Harm reduction programmes seek to help protect drug users from drug-related harm such as
becoming infected with HIV. Whilst these programmes do not deny the benefits of giving up the
drugs altogether, they recognise that total abstinence is very difficult for addicts, and in
some cases impossible.
One aspect of a harm reduction programme is the introduction of needle exchanges where
injecting drug users can exchange dirty needles for clean ones. If a clean supply of needles is
available to injecting drug users then they will be less likely to share needles, therefore
reducing the risk of contracting HIV. For example, in a major study of 81 cities around the
world on HIV infection rates amongst IDUs, it was found that in 52 cities without needle
exchanges HIV infection increased year on year, whilst in those cities with needle exchanges
HIV infections decreased year on year.30
In addition to needle exchanges, harm reduction programmes also look at ways of encouraging
IDUs to stop using drugs. One key way of doing this is by providing them with alternatives such
as methadone. These alternatives are administered at clinics, and once inside, visitors can be
offered further tests and treatment. Psychological assistance can be provided also, making the
visitor feel valued and enriching their life.
Unfortunately, harm reduction services in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are not
nearly adequate to meet demand. In general authorities prefer to criminalise drug users rather
than help them to give up drugs or avoid infection. In some countries - including Russia -
substitution treatment with methadone is illegal.31
Where they do exist, some harm reduction clinics have met with resistance from potential users
due to wariness of government agencies. There are a number of ways the clinics deal with this,
one example being that of Darko Kostovski, a Macedonian physician who has taken to wearing a
Star Trek uniform to put the visitors at ease.32
Treatment
AIDS prevention poster reading 'HIV is NOT transmitted through sport'
Reproduced courtesy of UNAIDS
At the end of 2005 only 13% of those requiring antiretroviral treatment for HIV infection in
this region were receiving it. Only Moldova and Romania are providing treatment to most of
those in need. Although Russian law guarantees people treatment, only around 5,000 (5%) of the
99,000 needing treatment were receiving it at the end of 2005. This rate is much worse than in
many poor African countries such as Zambia (27%), Malawi (20%) and Uganda (51%).33
One reason for the low treatment figures is that medicines are very expensive. This is however
becoming less of a problem, particularly in Russia.
In early 2005 the Russian minister of health, Mikhail Zurabov, announced that agreements had
been made with pharmaceutical companies which would reduce the amount an AIDS patient had to
spend on medicines from US$10,000 a year to around US$3,000.34 The Russian government then
announced in late 2005 that it would make AIDS a priority and pledged to spend at least 20
times more on treatment and prevention in 2006 than it spent in 2005.35 A year later it was
announced that spending would be doubled to US$289 million in 2007.36 This increase has been
aided by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which has pledged US$209 million over
five years for treatment programmes.37
Yet although it is hoped that the extra money will enable a rapid expansion of treatment access
in Russia, there are other issues to address besides funding, including pervasive
discrimination and segregation. People living with HIV in Russia must attend special clinics
for all of their medical needs. These clinics are isolated from the rest of the health care
system and anyone who visits them risks being stigmatised. Moreover, the lack of integration
means that doctors and nurses in non-specialist clinics have very little knowledge of HIV.38
Even specialist doctors are often unwilling to treat injecting drug users because they doubt
they will be able to adhere to the medication.39, 40
Conclusion
In Russia and Ukraine the number of people with HIV looks set to increase, but there is still
time to reverse this trend with the introduction of harm reduction programmes, other prevention
programmes and improved testing and treatment. The countries in Central Asia are still in the
early stages of the spread of the disease and, by following the example of countries such as
Romania that have achieved treatment for all and minimal spread, could stop the disease from
reaching the levels it has in Russia.
For further information, see our web page on HIV and drug use. For more Eastern European HIV &
AIDS statistics, see our European summary.
Written by Mark Kirby
References
UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:48.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:52.
Booth RE et al. (2004). Predictors of Self-Reported HIV Infection Among Drug Injectors in
Ukraine. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 35(1):82-88.
European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS. HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Europe:
Report no. 61, 30 June 1999; 37.
UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic
Dailey E; Open Society Institute. The rights approach is the right approach to harm reduction
in Central Asia. Newsletter of the international harm reduction programme of the open society
institute. 2002; 3(3):12.
European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS. HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Europe.
Mid-year report 2003. Saint-Maurice: Institut de veille sanitaire, 2003;(69):16-17.
UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic
The World Bank Group. Combating HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia. 2005:3.
Klomegah, K. K. AEGIS (AIDS Education Global Information System). Russia counts cost of AIDS.
2005 April.
Global Initiatives, Romania. amfAR AIDS Research; c2002 - 2005[cited 2005 Sept 5].
Popescu P. Reuters NewMedia. US clown fails to dispel Romanian AIDS fears. 2000 Aug.
Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative. c2005.
Human Rights Watch. Positively Abandoned: Stigma and Discrimination against HIV-Positive
Mothers and their Children in Russia. June 2005
Open Society Institute. Drugs, AIDS and Harm Reduction. 2001:11 .
San Fransisco Chronicle. Fighting an epidemic, behind bars: HIV-positive inmates struggling to
survive in segregated cells of Russia’s underfunded prisons. 2000 October.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:49.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:54.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:39.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:50.
Open Society Institute. Drugs, AIDS and Harm Reduction. 2001:14 .
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:49-52.
UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2004. 2004:52.
Adams, L; VOANews. Needle-Sharing, Unprotected Sex Fuel HIV-AIDS in Former Soviet Union. 2005
August.
BBC News. Russia campaigns against AIDS fear. 2004 May.
Balabanova Y. et al. Stigma and HIV infection in Russia. AIDS Care 18(7). October 2006
UNAIDS. Old masters spread modern messages about AIDS. 2005 Sept.
The World Bank Group. Ukraine Launches Information Campaign Against AIDS. Washington D.C; 2005
Sept.
Dailey E; Open Society Institute. The rights approach is the right approach to harm reduction
in Central Asia. Newsletter of the international harm reduction programme of the open society
institute. 2002; 3(3):20.
International Family Health. HIV/AIDS and drug misuse in Russia: Harm Reduction programmes and
the Russian legal system. 2003.
Dailey E; Open Society Institute. The rights approach is the right approach to harm reduction
in Central Asia. Newsletter of the international harm reduction programme of the open society
institute. 2002; 3(3):22.
WHO, Progress on Global Access to HIV Antiretroviral Therapy - A Report on "3 by 5" and Beyond,
28th March 2006
Klomegah, K. K. AEGIS Russia counts the cost of AIDS. 2005 April.
Bloomberg.com. http://www.bloomberg.com. Putin says AIDS problem ‘Serious’, spending to
increase 20-fold. 2005 Sept.
Nowak D. The Moscow Times. AIDS Spending Will Jump to $289M. 15 November 2006
Sargent C. Bloomberg.com. Drug Abusers Ignored, Untreated in AIDS Epidemic. 18 August 2006
Brown H. Russia's blossoming civil society holds the key to HIV. The Lancet 368(9534). 5 August
2006
Sargent C. Bloomberg.com. Drug Abusers Ignored, Untreated in AIDS Epidemic. 18 August 2006
Adams, L; VOANews. www.voanews.com/ . Needle-Sharing, Unprotected Sex Fuel HIV-AIDS in Former
Soviet Union. 2005 August.
Last updated March 19, 2007