VITEBSK, 3 December (BelTA) – Belarus has developed efficient interaction between the government, the healthcare sector, international organizations and the civil society in preventing HIV, Chairman of the Expert Council on Information Strategy for HIV/AIDS in Belarus, PR expert at the UNAIDS Country Office in Belarus Sergey Krutchinin told reporters answering a question of a BelTA reporter prior to a seminar in Vitebsk.
The seminar is dedicated to media coverage of HIV-related matters in line with the new Information Strategy for HIV/AIDS. The major objective of the strategy is to challenge the stereotypes surrounding HIV-positive people.
Sergey Krutchinin noted that the strategy was updated to be able to respond to new challenges and threats. It is important to make people understand that HIV is not a fatal, but chronic disease. “Treating HIV is just as normal as treating other diseases. Successfully treated HIV-positive individuals have a near-normal life expectancy and quality of life,” the expert said.
According to him, the country has almost achieved the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets (90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained treatment, and 90% of all people receiving treatment will have viral load suppression by 2020). “Belarus has developed efficient interaction between healthcare professionals, the government, international organizations and the civil society. This guarantees that the country will achieve sustainable results in the future, however prevention efforts should never stop,” Sergey Krutchinin said.
