In Russia and in the occupied territories, there have been shortages of antiretroviral drugs needed for people with HIV infection. Nestka writes that without additional government funding in 2023, only 30% of patients will be able to receive medicines.
According to official data, 1,137,596 people live in Russia with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of HIV infection. Almost 661 thousand of which in 2021 received the necessary medicines from the state or non-profit organizations. Now they have been joined by patients from the occupied regions of Ukraine, the exact number of which is not known.
According to the publication, last year the Ministry of Health purchased 566,000 courses of antiretroviral therapy. There were barely enough for everyone in need. This year, despite the increase in the number of patients, only 292,000 courses were purchased.
Nestka's interlocutors note that there has not been such a shortage of medicines since 2017. People from different cities of Russia report that they are given cheaper analogues of the necessary drugs. Often patients cannot take them due to side effects. The Patient Control movement, which is involved in helping people with HIV, writes that at least 15 billion rubles are needed to solve the problem.
According to Nestka, the most serious shortage of drugs is in St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen regions, as well as in the self-proclaimed DPR. One of the activists defending the rights of people with HIV told the publication that the Ministry of Health «advises» the regions to solve problems with interruptions of drugs themselves. There are no local resources for them.
Last November, Patient Control reported that HIV patients from 12 Russian regions were having problems getting Eviplera, the most commonly prescribed antiretroviral drug. Interruptions in obtaining the necessary drug preparations were reported earlier.