HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Eastern Europe: Recent Developments in the Russian Federation and Ukraine Among Women

Background: The Russian Federation and the Ukraine are among the Eastern European countries with the fastest growing number of cases of HIV. According to data from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, nearly 90% of newly reported HIV diagnoses in Eastern Europe in 2006 were from the Russian Federation (66%) and the Ukraine (21%). A growing number of women are infected with HIV. The impact of gender on HIV/AIDS is an important factor in understanding the development and evolution of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the importance of integrating gender consideration into the creation of HIV programs and to examine the effect of gender on HIV/AIDS. Methods: Reported HIV/AIDS cases from the official epidemiological register of the Ukrainian Centre for AIDS Prevention alongside data from the Russian Federal AIDS Center were analyzed. Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS country fact sheets were reviewed and analyzed, and this information was supplemented with published HIV prevalence and sexually transmitted disease case reporting information, unpublished reports, and expert evaluations. Results: Of the newly registered cases of HIV, the proportion of women rose from 13.0% in 1995 to 44.0% in 2006 in the Russian Federation, and from 37.2% in 1995 to 41.9% in 2006 in the Ukraine. There has also been a considerable increase in mother-to-child transmission of HIV since 1995. Between 1987 and 1994, the proportion of children among the people newly infected with HIV in the Ukraine was 2.2%; in 2006 it was 17.6%. In 2006, 16,078 new HIV cases were registered in the Ukraine and 39,652 new HIV cases in the Russian Federation. Large increases in the number of HIV-infected women were reported from both countries. Conclusions: The data examined in this study suggest subregional differences in the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Russian Federation and the Ukraine and the importance of the impact of gender on the rapid spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among women and women of child-bearing age. To protect women from HIV infection, it is important to find ways to empower them by implementing policies and specific prevention measures that increase their access to knowledge about HIV/AIDS; the empowerment of women is vital to reversing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.