“Playing With Statistical Data”
HIV/AIDS Joint United Nations Program data “copied” by the media “interprets figures from various sources in an arbitrary and biased manner”, says In a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Health of Russia.
In the report, it was stated that “UNAIDS data showing that the Russian Federation is among the top five countries in the world in the spread of HIV infection is claimed by the media, which is not true and is another propaganda provocation against our country.”
The ministry stressed that “these data do not allow us to assess the situation regarding the spread of HIV infection in Russia.” The Ministry of Health added that HIV testing coverage in the country is “one of the highest in the world” – almost 30% of the population. Compared to 2000, it “nearly doubled” from 24 million to 42 million in 2021, according to the agency.
“This allows us to obtain the most objective data, identify patients in the early stages of the disease and initiate treatment in a timely manner,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Health added that “the coverage of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy has increased” in Russia, which is more than 84% by the end of 2021.
“Continued preventive and therapeutic measures can increase patients’ life expectancy and reduce the risk of disease spreading. The incidence of HIV infection in Russia is falling steadily: 2.0% in 2021 compared to 2020.
According to their data, the overall incidence from 2018 to 2021 decreased by 31.4%, from 58.6 to 40.2 people per 100,000 population.
“According to the results of 2021, the number of people living with HIV in Russia was 851,754 people, which is about 0.58% of the country’s population. All information on morbidity and mortality from HIV infection is widely available and is officially published by Rosstat and Russia Ministry of Health and Rospotrebnadzor”.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health continued, “Despite the obvious achievements of Russian medicine, more and more attempts are being made to falsify statistical data on the state of HIV infection in the country.” The Ministry emphasized that in the Russian Federation the disease control program is financed from the federal budget, while other countries often use grants provided by UNAIDS, among others.
ahead of Uganda and Tanzania
The other day, the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced that by the end of 2021 Russia’s taken It ranks fifth among the countries in the world in terms of the highest rate of spread of HIV infection.
It is understood from these organizations that the Russian Federation has left Tanzania and Uganda behind. Total HIV in 2021 i got an infection 1.5 million people. Half of these cases occurred in 10 countries.
South Africa ranked first in terms of the spread of the disease, with 14% of all HIV infection cases detected. The second line went to Mozambique with 6.5%, the third line went to Nigeria with 4.9%, and the fourth line went to India with 4.2%. While Russia ranked fifth in the research, 3.9% of infection cases were detected in the country.
UNAIDS noted that while the number of new cases, which was 2.9 million in 2000, has almost halved, the number of people living with HIV worldwide has increased from 26 million to over 38 million in the last two decades. The organization attributed this to the fact that patients with HIV are now living longer, thanks to advances in treatment.
“In 2021, the rate of new HIV diagnoses in the WHO European Region varied widely between countries. The highest rates per 100,000 inhabitants (above 15.0) are in the Russian Federation (40.2), followed by Ukraine (37.1), the Republic of Moldova (25.9), Kazakhstan (18, 7), Cyprus (16.5), Belarus (15.6) and Armenia (15.2),” the report says.
At the same time, the indicator of 40.2 cases per 100 thousand people coincided with the data given later by the Russian Ministry of Health.
The document further states that new infections in Russia “constitute 55% of all cases in the WHO European Region and 70% of reported cases in eastern Europe”.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.