HIV/AIDS Factsheet
Fact Sheet: Eastern Europe and Central Asia - The Eastern Europe and Central Asia region has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world. - An estimated 1.4 million people are now living with HIV, with around 210,000 newly infected in 2004. - Several countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus are in the early stages of the epidemic. - In parts of south-eastern Europe, the conditions are ripe for major epidemics among the young. Deaths due to AIDS: - AIDS claimed 60,000 lives in the region in 2004. - In 2004, 1,100 children under 15 years old died from AIDS-related causes. HIV infection among children and adolescents: - The epidemic has a young face. More than 80% of those living with HIV are under the age of 30 compared to just 30% in Western Europe. - There are over 8,000 children living with HIV in the region. - In 2004, more than 1,800 children under 15 were infected with HIV. Without treatment, half of them will die before their second birthday. - In Ukraine, 25% of those diagnosed HIV-positive are below 20. - In the Russian Federation – which accounts for 70% of those living with HIV in the region - 80% of the 860,000 people known to be infected are aged 15-29. - A study in St Petersburg showed that 33% of sex workers aged 15-19 were HIV-positive while another study from Irkutsk Oblast in the Russia Federation showed 65% of street injecting drug users to be HIV positive – 90% of injecting drug users were still in their teens. - Conservative estimates suggest that 70% of newly-reported HIV infections in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are drug-related. Most injecting drug users are young – up to 25% are thought to be under 20. Mother-to-child transmission: - HIV prevalence among pregnant women remains relatively low in the region. - In the Russian Federation, the percentage of women among people living with HIV has increased from 20% in 2000 to 43% in 2004. Each day, more than 100 new HIV infections are registered, including 43 girls and young women. - In Ukraine, women now account for 40% of all registered cases of HIV. - In Russia, over 21,000 children have been born to HIV-positive mothers. They constitute 6.3% of all people living with HIV and over 2,000 children born to HIV-positive mothers have been abandoned or separated from their mothers. - Without preventive interventions, roughly one third of infants born to HIV-positive mothers will acquire HIV during pregnancy, labour or delivery or through breastfeeding. - The overwhelming majority of children under 15 who are HIV-positive were infected through their mothers. - In Ukraine, mother-to-child transmission fell from 27% of births to HIV-positive mothers in 2001, to 10% in 2003 and coverage has increased from 72% (2003) to 82% (2004) with increased capacity to monitor results. Paediatric treatment: - One widely available antibiotic, cotrimoxazole, can nearly halve AIDS-related deaths among children. The drug costs as little as three U.S. cents a day. - Many children, some already diagnosed with HIV and others born to HIV-positive mothers but not yet diagnosed, need access to cotrimoxazole. - HIV-positive children have poor access to anti-retroviral therapy. - Across the region, an estimated 160,000 people (not only children) need antiretroviral therapy, but only 16,000 people have access. Orphans and vulnerable children: - Up to 20% of children born to HIV-positive mothers in Ukraine may be abandoned by, or separated from, their mothers. - Each day in the Russian Federation, 20 children are born to HIV-positive mothers. - Living in isolated hospital wards, the development of these children is undermined. - Studies in the Russian Federation and Ukraine indicate that kindergartens and schools are not enrolling HIV-positive children. Prevention: - The vast majority of young people do not have access to the information, skills and services that are essential for HIV prevention. - Prevention efforts still have low coverage. Less than 50% adolescents have access to adequate information on prevention compared with the UNGASS target of 90 %. - Less than 10% of young injecting drug users and people selling sex are being reached with interventions as against a coverage target of 80%. - Adolescents at greatest risk have a right to life-saving commodities: - Adolescents have a right to youth friendly health services.
Angela Hawke, Communication Officer, UNICEF CEE/CIS.
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