Russian HIV Nonprofit Loses All State Funding, Putting Services at Risk

Russia’s War Against Ukraine Has Seen an Explosion in HIV Rates

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One of Russia’s leading HIV support organizations says it has been stripped of government funding this year, leaving vital services in jeopardy at a time when the country continues to struggle with one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics.

The AIDS.Center foundation said it failed twice this year to secure grants from the Presidential Grants Fund and from Moscow’s Department of Labor and Social Protection.

“For thousands of people, these services are not a formality but real help and support,” AIDS.Center

Russia officially recorded 1.2 million people living with HIV at the end of 2023, and official figures state that 30,000 working-age Russians die each year from the virus.

Nearly 60% of those deaths are concentrated in 24 of the country’s hardest-hit regions, including Chukotka, the Kemerovo and Irkutsk regions, and the Altai, Perm and Leningrad regions. These areas also account for more than half of all new infections.

Since Russia began monitoring the epidemic, 1.7 million people have been diagnosed with HIV, of whom about 500,000 have died. Roughly 60,000 new cases are registered annually.

Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the Federal AIDS Center, has acknowledged that late or improper treatment remains a major problem.

The government has also been spending less on testing. In 2023, state purchases of diagnostic tests fell

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