A quarterly international newsletter on sexuality, sexual health, and sexuality education.
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Winter 2001/2002
Russia: AIDS Infoshare: Bringing Together Public Health and Human Rights
AIDS Infoshare is a Russian nongovernmental organization (NGO) founded in 1993 to provide individuals and organizations with the tools that they need to fight HIV/AIDS and STDs as well as human rights violations in the health care system. It was started in Moscow when a small group of people discovered that very few Russians had access to information to take action against these issues.
As Russia has transitioned over the past decade into a market economy, it has experienced several new health crises: epidemics of infectious diseases, rising rates of alcoholism and drug abuse, increased rates of abortion and infant mortality, declining life span, and countless health problems as a result of the civil war in Chechnya.
Therefore, it has become increasingly important to educate the public about sexuality and reproductive health. It is also important that individuals have the knowledge of their rights before entering into a relationship with medical professionals or the public health system.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infant mortality rate in Russia is still seven times the rate of the United States despite a recent decline. Almost a quarter of all maternal deaths were related to abortions in 1995, the vast majority due to illegal abortions.
HIV/AIDS is also on the rise.Russia now has the fastest-rising rates of HIV infection in the world, with the number of HIV-positive Russians growing 15-fold in the past three years, the United Nations reported in December 2001.
While the official registered number of HIV-infected people has reached 163,000, the actual figure may be five to 10 times larger, according to the chief of the Russian Health Ministry’s AIDS Department. By 2015, it is estimated that five to 10 million Russians will die from AIDS.
One of AIDS Infoshare’s recently launched programs is designed to produce a set of guidelines for improving the observance of human rights and medical ethics in Russia’s health care system.
“Human Rights and Health in Russia” is a program that brings together NGOs, journalists, medical professionals, and policymakers to begin to look at practical ways to close the gap between the concept of human rights and the situation as it now exists in Russia.
The project includes researching the public health realities of 13 target groups; creating a comprehensive document of recommendations to present to the Duma, the governing body in Russia; a newsletter, and a possible sixpart television series to introduce and explain concepts of human rights and medical ethics to a larger audience.
Another project called “Infoexchange: STDs/HIV/AIDS Prevention among Women” works closely with 10 organizations to assist and support them in conducting their own projects by providing computer equipment and training, project management skills, small project grants, and partnerships with American/European organizations doing the same work.
To date, there has been no attempt to begin discussion on the interaction of human rights and public health in Russia.
Infoshare understands such relationships are not separate and is working to educate policymakers on human rights and their place in public health promotion, to seek input from doctors and NGOs working with vulnerable populations to improve the health status of the nation and not to instill fear and distrust in those they are trying to help, and, finally, to work with the media to inform the public of their rights regarding their health.
Infoshare’s programs are essential in working for true change to take place in Russia’s health care system.
For more information, contact:
Infoshare International
584 Castro Street, Suite 671
San Francisco, CA 94114
Phone: 415/437-1873
Fax: 510/843-4066
E-mail: infoshare1@aol.com
Web Master: siecus@siecus.org