Driven largely by the government’s refusal to institute measures to treat the country’s drug addicts — measures that have dramatically reduced HIV infections in drug addicts in other countries, including the U.S.
60,000 new cases of HIV were seen in Russia in 2009, up 8% from the prior year. At least 60% of those new cases were spread by intravenous drug use and a good portion of the rest of the new cases were likely the result of sex with drug addicts.
Russia blames America’s failure to eradicate Afghanistan’s opium crops for the IV drug problem in Russia.
BUT what’s really driving Russia’s problem? Politics. The country has a long-standing ideological opposition to the use of “substitute” maintenance drugs like methadone and buprenorphine to treat IV drug addicts.more HERE