Struggle against AIDS goes on

published on 12/1/09 1:18 PM

1 December a World AIDS Day.

Photo: BGNES

Twenty-one years after the World Health Organization declared 1 December a World AIDS Day, the struggle against the disease goes on. The number of those infected with HIV continues to rise and already exceeds 2 million. WHO has warned about a growing epidemic in some countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The numbers of those affected by AIDS are the greatest in Russia and Ukraine. A problem country is Moldova as well. The total number of Bulgarians registered as HIV-positive, is about 1000, figures from the Health Ministry suggest. However, officials warn that the actual number of the infected is probably four times this figure. The reason is in the absence of pronounced symptoms of the disease in the first 5 to 10 years after infection. AIDS cannot be cured but early detection and treatment increases life expectancy of patients. AIDS treatment in Bulgaria is covered by the national revenue and costs several thousand euro annually, said Dr. Tonka Varleva, director of the Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS Program at the Ministry of Health. As risk factors in Bulgaria she identifies the insufficient awareness of the danger of infection, the reluctance for condom use and the falling age of first sexual contacts. Dr. Varleva explained that most of the HIV-positive individuals in Bulgaria had been diagnosed by chance during blood tests for planned surgeries, for example. In Bulgaria the share of injection drug users and homosexuals is still the largest among the HIV-positive persons. Men prevail, and the worst affected regions include the capital Sofia, the second largest city Plovdiv and the Black sea cities of Varna and Burgas. Close to 30% of the newly diagnosed are young people aged up to 30. They found out about their condition during this year’s summer anti-AIDS campaign on the Bulgarian Black Sea, when 5000 young people were tested for the virus. Many condoms and brochures have been handed out. This is done on a regular basis. By end-2011 Bulgaria will receive EUE 3.2 million from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria to be able to continue work on the national anti-AIDS program of the Health Ministry.

“Activities under this program are 19 in 28 regions of the country”, Dr. Tonka Varleva explains. “They are targeted at prevention and control in the most vulnerable groups. The Ministry of Health has signed contracts with 34 NGOs working with risk groups. Centers for anonymous and free of charge testing for HIV will increase in number, because their effectiveness is proven with more than 65% of new cases found by them. Besides we will continue to support regional public health inspections and will engage them in the struggle with HIV/AIDS. There are 10 local coordination offices for AIDS prevention and control and we intend to assist them in drawing up local strategic plans for control and prevention of the disease. Information campaigns in schools will continue too, as they are crucial in the struggle against AIDS.”

English version: Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Diana Hristakieva

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