The International AIDS Memorial Day is marked across the world on the 3rd Sunday of May, this year on the 16th of the month. This day was first marked by several Americans, who faced this tragedy, on this day in 1983. According to the World Health Organization, at present, almost 60 million people have been infected with HIV, and 25 million, including 74 thousand Russians have died.
The Memorial Day is marked not only to remember those who died from AIDS, says the head of the Federal Scientific and Methodological Centre for AIDS Prophylaxis and Control, Vadim Pokrovsky. “We plan to appeal to people so that they do their best to prevent the death of one more person from this infection,” says Vadim Pokrovsky. “At present, Russia’s HIV-infection situation is worse compared to past years. I started working 25 years ago when there was no single case of HIV infection. Russia has registered almost 550 thousand cases since then,” Vadim Pokrovsky said.
The number of people dying from AIDS is growing in Russia like in other countries. In 2007, 11 thousand people died, while the following year this figure grew up to 14 thousand, says Vadim Pokrovsky. “The average age of who die is less than 33, this means that they are young people in their heyday,” says Vadim Pokrovsky. “This is an extremely tragic situation when a person dies in his youth. There is an opinion that HIV infected people mainly die from an overdose of narcotics, which they take often. However, statistics show only 15 percent died from overdose, committing suicide or from some other reasons,” Vadim Pokrovsky said.
According to Academician Pokrovsky, AIDS is mainly contracted when people inject drugs. Last year, 61 percent of the overall AIDS patients were infected when they used syringes to take drugs. However, the number of infections during heterosexual contacts has grown in Russia in the past years, and consequently the number of women infected has grown too.
Despite the absence of an effective vaccine to get rid of HIV once and for all, at present, physicians have about 30 quite effective drugs capable of suppressing the virus. These drugs restore partially the immunity of patients and turn HIV into a chronic case from a fatal illness. At present, up to 70 thousand people undergo antiretroviral therapy in Russia although over 100 thousand people need such a treatment.
On the 16th of May, many people will wear red ribbon in the form of inverted “V”. The idea of this symbol of suffering, supporting and hope for the future without AIDS was suggested by an American painter Frank Muru. On this day, the loved ones and friends of the people who died from AIDS will sew quilts, pictures using pieces of cloths. An American, Clive Johns sewed the first quilt in 1987, which was devoted to his best friend who died from AIDS.
The International AIDS Memorial Day reminds the people in the world that no one is insured against infection, and is an opportunity to increase the awareness of people and explain to them how to avert infection. Mankind has got rid of many illnesses, perhaps the words, HIV and AIDS, will go into the past on some day.
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