Yelena Voloshina, "Kievskiye Vedomosti" newspaper, October 26, 1995

[Translated into English by A.Prishchenko, 2/11/95]

Such a very brave assurance belongs to Valery Ivasiuk, the chairman of Ukrainian President's National Committee for struggle against AIDS.

-- This,-- Valery Ivasiuk stresses,-- means quite not a permission, but recognition of phenomena existing in our society, no difference if we want this or if we don't. The life itself forces us toward it: among 600 thousand (non-official information) of drug addicts only 40 thousand are controlled. And AIDS, as it is well-known, is spread mainly by drug addicts.

Here is the most "dangerous" data: national laboratory at the Committee has revealed ten times more HIV-infected blood-donors this year in comparison with all the time before; during this year the number of HIV-infected drug addicts in Ukraine has increased 11 times in comparison with last year. And the number of drug addicts themselves has increased in 3rd quarter of this year twice than in the 1st. The most of infected are in Odessa and Nikolayev. Since the beginning of the year AIDS is no more under control.

17 drug addicts from Odessa, according to Valery Ivasiuk, were infected in a day from syringes with drugs bought from Gypsies. After injection syringes returned to the sellers and were filled again...

An extraordinary seminar of Ukrainian Committee against AIDS was held in Kyiv with participation of experts from World Health Protection organization.

However, today the problem of struggle against AIDS among drug addicts is topical in the whole world, and in some civilized countries, for example, in Sweden, Holland, France, medical institutions began to change used suture needles and syringes to sterile ones free of charge, and also to provide infected drug addicts with condoms. This has essentially suppressed HIV-infection spread among this risk group. Of course, our narcologists do not "greet" this method yet, the more as it is very expensive. But, according to Valery Ivasiuk, it is much more cheap than struggle against epidemic and drug business. That's why Ukrainian Ministry of Health Protection has proposed the Minister Cabinet to use "European" experience first in Odessa and Nikolayev regions.