Russia Lambasts Reports of Sharp Increase in HIV Rates as Provocative Propaganda

European press has claimed that Russia accounted for 3.9% of all HIV infections in the world, sitting in the top-5 countries in the spread of the disease.

The Russian Health Ministry has lambasted reports pointing towards swiftly rising numbers of HIV infections in the country as "propaganda" and a "provocation", noting that the data behind the allegations is incorrect.

"The mass media have published alleged UNAIDS data, which include the Russian Federation in the top five countries worldwide in terms of the HIV infection spread, which is not true and is another propaganda provocation directed against our country," an official statement read.

Moscow stressed that the reports cite hand-picked statistics from various sources, warping the real situation with the state of HIV infection in Russia. It also affirmed that HIV incidence has decreased by 31.4% from 2018 to 2021, from 58.6 to 40.2 per 100,000 people.

"The Russian Federation is one of the few countries that has its own program to combat HIV infection and independently finances it from the federal budget. Other countries usually use grants provided by international organizations such as UNAIDS, and, therefore, can only implement projects covered by them," the ministry stated.

In addition, the ministry noted that Russia is one of the countries that has implemented effective counter-measures against the infections. Among other things, Russia managed to test a vast number of citizens, with around 30% of the population being checked for the disease. Likewise, close to 84% of those infected receive antiretroviral therapy.