AIDS in Post-communist Russia And Its Successor States

This text examines how effective the former Soviet Union has been in coping with AIDS and HIV-infection in the last decade. It analyzes a variety of critical issues, such as the extent of HIV and AIDS mortality and morbidity by nation state, the role of the health sector, AIDS and health/sex education, the impact of the mass media, different government responses, the role of non-governmental agencies, the law and human rights and the need to eradicate discrimination against so-called "risk groups". The study concludes that, although AIDS has not yet reached major proportions - 1200 registered cases by 1994 - there is no room for complacency. It argues that urgent East-West co-operation on equal terms and the rejection of medical/stigma models of health promotion are necessary before it is too little, too late.