Belarus
Total population | 9,672,000* |
Registered HIV cases | 12,955** |
Estimated HIV cases | 17,000 |
Newly registered cases in 2011 | 1,196** |
* CIS Interstate Committee for Statistics, December 2009
** Belarus Centre of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, Ministry of Health, January 2012
*** ‘Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic', UNAIDS, August 2009
Country Background
A flat and marshy land of which one-third is forested, Belarus is landlocked by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, all of which at some point gained power over her. Russia took control of Belarus in the late 18th century. In 1922, Belarus, whose capital is Minsk, was absorbed by the Soviet Union, from which it declared sovereignty in 1990 and independence in 1991. Eighty percent (80%) of the population is Belarussian, with a large Russian community and smaller communities of Poles and Ukrainians. Both Russian and Belarusian are registered as official languages. The country leans, overwhelmingly, towards a Christian-based faith.
In 1994, Belarus elected its first, and to date only, president, Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus’s economy is stable and largely state-controlled with relatively low rates of unemployment. Since independence, Belarus has retained close ties with Russia, more so than any other former Soviet republic, relying heavily on this alliance both for raw materials and political support.
HIV Situation
As in many other countries in the region, Belarus’s HIV epidemic began among injecting drug users in 1996. In recent years, the percentage of new cases attributed to unprotected heterosexual contact has exceeded that attributed to injecting drug use. The internal policy of the country limits the number of international organisations and local non-governmental organisations working there, thus reducing the reach to vulnerable groups and the possibilities of bringing up-to-date technologies and evidence-based practices to the country. The State Programme of HIV Prevention for 2001–2005 and 2004–2008 guarantees that all citizens have access to free, anonymous testing and counselling and free anti-retroviral treatment for all HIV-positive children and pregnant women. These programmes have also provided for the setup of anonymous counselling points for injecting drug users throughout the country. Most of the services, including anti-retrovirals, are provided for by a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, with the UN office in Belarus acting as the principal recipient. However, access to treatment for vulnerable groups still remains a major issue. The cost of treatment is high, diagnostic capabilities in labs are low and procurement requirements are complicated.