Open letter

On behalf of the community of patients, among them citizens of the Russian Federation, people living with HIV, we are addressing you with regard to the critical situation taking place with the provision of treatment for patients with HIV. Though in Russia it is not the first year that the national priority project ‘Health’ is being implemented, currently a number of regions are facing a catastrophic situation with the lack of antiretroviral treatment for HIV.

According to the Government plan 40,000 patients are to be provided treatment in 2008. Unavailability of life-saving medications for those in need is a reason that medical clinics are unable to provide treatment, guaranteed by the state, which violates the right to medical help.

Interruptions in HIV treatment process may cause the increase of new cases, complications for health, development of resistant forms of HIV. This situation undermines all the efforts to develop adherence to treatment among patients, who being afraid of negative consequences of treatment interruptions, lose trust to the capacity of the public health system to provide necessary medications. As a result people who have developed HIV resistance would need a more expensive treatment at the expense of the federal budget.

Auction sales for the right to conclude contracts for the supply of antiretrovirals in 2008 within the framework of the national priority project ‘Health’ was conducted in end May 2008. In 2007 it was conducted in April. Obviously for this reason treatment interruption happen everywhere and regularly and the purchases do not consider available stocks and demands. It is therefore difficult to overestimate efforts undertaken within Global Fund projects, which are hastily trying to partly fill the emerging gaps by supplying reserve drugs to regions facing interruptions, though these efforts are not enough to substitute the supply expected within the national project.

The fact that this situation takes place in Russia for the 3rd year and apparently appears to be systematic proves that the system of supply of life saving treatment is far from being efficient. It is happening when the Russian Federation at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AIDS on 10-11 June in New York reports with good indicators and states about its commitment to fight the epidemic. To our opinion, the current situation with regard to treatment supply can not be called relevant to high estimates of the progress achieved, which creates a lot of anxiety and concern among the community of patients and organizations advocating for the rights of PLWHA.

It worth mentioning that this problem for Russia is not a new one. It was USSR/Russia who faced the epidemic of multiresistant TB forms, which is very expensive and sometimes impossible to treat. This happened because of interruption with antiTB drugs supply. The same situation is taking place with regard to HIV now. We appeal to the Government of the Russian Federation, decision-makers and ask you to solve the abovementioned situation without delay. As a lot of people, whose health in under threat, are concerned, we insist on operative measures to be taken immediately.
We also recommend that adequate measures are undertaken to ensure timely medications supply and establish a reserve fund to avoid such situations in the future.

Finished. Thank You so much for support!!!

1. Aksion Plus, Albania
2. Estonian Network of People living with HIV
3. Joan Tallada, VyH en Contexto
4. Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+), Bangkok, Thailand
5. Network of Zimbabwean Positive Women (NZPW+)
6. United Belize Advocacy Movement
7. Wim Vandevelde (EATG) Portugal
8. AIDES, France
9. African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (AfriCASO), Dakar, Senegal
10. Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR), USA
11. Dr.JRodriguez/Person living with HIV
12. Isabel Nunes (SERES), Portugal
13. Andrew Whitby
14. Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN), Thailand
15. Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+), Malaysia.
16. Snehansu Bhaduri, India
17. AIDS ACCESS Foundation,Thailand
18. Thai Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+),Thailand
19. Lynde K. Francis
20. The Centre, PLWH Organisation, Harare, Zimbabwe
21. Patricia Masuka, PLWH, Harare, Zimbabwe
22. Sensoa, Belgium
23. R Miguel Rodrigues PORTUGAL
24. Persia+Tehran, Iran
25. Act Up-Paris, France
26. J. Young St. Louis, MO United States/Person Living with HIV
27. Paul Haugen USA
28. David J Monson, New Mexico
29. Eli Sanchez, USA
30. Italian League for Fighting AIDS, Italy
31. AGIHAS (PLWHA Support group), Latvia
32. Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Marco Gomes. Canada
33. MIFRO - Missão sem Fronteiras (ONG) Angola
34. FUTURE WITHOUT AIDS (Ukraine, Odessa)
35. Health GAP (Global Access Project), USA
36. Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Guyana
37. Mary O'Grady, South Africa
38. Nazir Masih, New Light AIDS Control Society - Pakistan
39. Ratan Singh Ng.Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+)
40. United and Strong Inc. (St. Lucia)
41. Actwid Kongadzem, Bamenda, Cameroon
42. Intimate Friends International, Bamenda, Cameroon
43. Dr Oliver Birnso Verbe,USA
44. EMPOWER INDIA SANKAR
45. Hiv-Danmark
46. Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa
47. Patricia Figueroa FernandezCaribbean Regional CoordinatorHIV Collaborative Fund/ITPC
48. Rosaura Lopez FontanezPuerto Rico Community Nerwork for Clinical Research on AIDS (PR CoNCRA
49. christ soldiers foundation in ghana.
50. Guyana RainBow Foundation
51. Guyana RainBow Foundation (GuyBow)