Twenty years after the world heard of AIDS for the first time, it has become clear that humanity is facing one of the most catastrophic epidemics in its history, an epidemic that threatens the development of the world's largest regions. world.

When HIV / AIDS first appeared 20 years ago, no one could imagine what impact it would have on the world. To date, 20 million people have died. Another 36 million are living with this disease. And although everyone knows how HIV is transmitted, more than 16,000 people are infected every day. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a recent speech: "There is no time for half-measures. If we are talking about lost lives, children who have lost their parents, the destruction of the social and economic structures of communities and entire countries, AIDS is an incomparable nightmare. In addition, the damage caused to them is becoming more and more numerous. In the most affected countries, where more than a fifth of the adult population is infected, the service sector and production are in complete decline. "

To date, the UN estimates that there are more than 40 million people living with HIV / AIDS worldwide. In 2001, the number of people infected with HIV was 5 million, including 800,000 children. Since the start of the epidemic, more than 22 million people have died from AIDS. Today, HIV / AIDS is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, and the world as a whole is fourth among other fatal diseases. In 2001, an epidemic claimed the lives of three million people. At the same time, according to the UN, no more than $ 2 billion is spent each year on AIDS. At the same time, mankind has spent more than $ 500 billion on the computer problem of the Y2K bug alone.

In many countries of the world, the diagnosis of HIV infection remains a problem. Thus, according to reports from Ukraine, the tests with which the blood of Ukrainians are tested for AIDS in 70% of cases give an erroneous result. This information during a meeting with journalists was leaked by Valery Ivasiuk, the former head of the National Committee for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and AIDS. According to him, the cases of infection in hospitals by blood donation are explained precisely by the imperfection of the test material. The same equipment is the main cause of chronic shortage of blood donation. "Just this year, after checking AIDS, more than 10,000 liters of blood was poured into the pit," said Valery Ivasyuk.

By 2020, 16 million people will die from AIDS worldwide. These frightening figures are given in the UN report. The same report says that about 95% of the 36 million people infected live in developing countries. One of the sources of AIDS is seen to be marriages with people with HIV. According to UNICEF, in 2001, 800,000 children infected with HIV were born to infected mothers. To date, more than 10 million children under the age of 14 have lost one or both parents who have died of AIDS. The most alarming symptom in this regard is that more than half of all new infections are among young people.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region of the world hardest hit by the epidemic. The total number of people living with HIV / AIDS here has reached 28.5 million. HIV transmission in these countries occurs mainly through sexual contact, and only a small percentage of cases occur through blood transfusions and unsafe injection methods. The largest number of Africans living with HIV / AIDS is estimated to live in South Africa - 5 million and in Nigeria - more than 3 million.

In countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the number of people living with HIV / AIDS at the end of 2001 was 6.6 million. In India alone, 4 million people are infected, in China about 1 million HIV-positive people. HIV infection in countries in this region is prevalent mainly among injecting drug users, sex workers and homosexuals.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, at the end of 2001, it was estimated that more than 1.9 million people living with HIV / AIDS were living. The driving forces of the epidemic in this region are heterosexual sexual contact (Dominican Republic, Haiti, Ganduras), as well as injection drug use (Brazil, southern Latin America).

In high-income countries (United States, Canada, Australia, Western Europe), at the end of 2001, 1.5 million people living with HIV / AIDS were living. HIV epidemics in these countries vary over time, scale and affected populations, but there is a general trend to increase the importance of heterosexual transmission; At the same time, the young and the poor are particularly exposed.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain the region with the highest rates of HIV infection. By the end of 2001, the number of people living with HIV / AIDS had reached 1 million. In Ukraine, 1% of the entire adult population is infected with HIV. In this region, three-quarters of the total number of HIV infections are attributable to injection drug use, however, an increasing number of people (mainly women) are infected with HIV through sexual contact.

According to the Federal Scientific and Methodological Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS on 01.10.2002, 214,090 people infected with HIV have been registered in USA. During the 10 months of 2002, 36,736 new cases of HIV infection were again recorded.

More than 80% of the new cases diagnosed this year with the established route of transmission have been noted in people who use intravenous drugs. The proportion of sexually transmitted infections is increasing. The average age of infected people is 18 to 25 years old. 1,557 babies were born to mothers infected with HIV this year.

A mandatory review this year found 566 infected blood donors. Five infected recipients were identified to whom the infected blood was transfused in 2001 by donors in the negative window.

In the Smolensk region for the entire observation period of 21/10/2002, 327 cases of HIV infection have been recorded. In addition, 13 people infected with HIV were identified during an anonymous examination and remained unknown. In 10 months of 2002, 80 people infected with HIV were identified in the region. In addition, 2 other patients were diagnosed with HIV during an anonymous examination, but they remained unknown.

In 70% of the cases detected in 2002, the infection occurred during the intravenous administration of drugs; in other cases, during intercourse.

In the Smolensk region, the most unfavorable situation developed in the town of Roslavl - 88 HIV positive, the town of Smolensk - 73; as well as Vyazemsky district - 35, Safonovsky district - 34, Dorogobuzh district (V-Dneprovsky establishment) - 16 and Desnogorsk - 15.

On December 1, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared World AIDS Day. This date has been celebrated since 1988. On this day, the international community expresses its solidarity with those affected by the epidemic and supports initiatives to combat AIDS around the world.

HIV is a tragedy not only for those infected. To a lesser extent, or perhaps even to a greater extent, it is disturbance and grief for those close to them who are forced to watch the disappearance of their loved ones, unable to prevent or resist to that. Usually, those who are sick and their loved ones want to keep their diagnosis a secret, because society does not forgive people infected with HIV for their illnesses. Fear of discrimination can deter people from seeking AIDS treatment. People infected with or suspected of contracting HIV may be denied access to health services, housing or work, insurance or entry to a foreign country, their friends and colleagues may turn away from them. In some cases, their own families drive them out of the house, their spouses ask for a divorce; cases of physical violence or even murder are known. The stereotype of attitudes toward HIV / AIDS can spread to the next generation, placing a heavy burden on the shoulders of children trying to cope with the consequences of the death of their parents from AIDS.