Experts are sounding the alarm: Russia's growing influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is worsening the HIV epidemic in the region.

Over recent years, new HIV infections have increased by 20%, whilst AIDS-related deaths have surged by 34% – the fastest growth rates globally.

Key factors:

🔹 Russian propaganda against opioid substitution therapy for people who use drugs. This therapy reduces HIV infection risk, but Russia actively opposes it.

🔹 Pressure on the LGBTIQ+ community and HIV/AIDS organisations. ‘Foreign agent’ laws modelled on Russian legislation are forcing many to cease operations.

🔹 Criminalisation of sex work, drug use, and same-sex relationships in many countries across the region under Russian influence.

🔹 Fear of deportation among HIV-positive migrant workers in Russia, hindering their access to treatment.

Russian aggression has long since expanded beyond mere military confrontation. The Kremlin is waging a hybrid war on all fronts, using diverse tools to undermine democratic values and human rights. The HIV epidemic has become yet another battlefield where Russia attempts to impose its destructive policies. Through propaganda and manipulation, Moscow seeks not only to seize territories but also to conquer minds, forcing people to relinquish basic rights and freedoms.

This is a complex attack on the very essence of human dignity, where health issues are inextricably linked with human rights and national security. This situation vividly demonstrates how Russian influence threatens not only the territorial integrity of countries but also fundamental human rights and public health. The fight against the HIV epidemic becomes part of a broader resistance to Russia’s aggressive policies in the region.

The National LGBTI Consortium urges the international community to wake from its lethargic slumber of indifference and recognise the depth of the problem. In other words, it’s time to stop viewing Russia’s actions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia through rose-tinted spectacles as “their internal affairs”. When one person’s rights are violated, everyone’s freedom is at risk.

Although it may seem that the battle for the health and dignity of the LGBTIQ+ community is something distant and abstract, in reality, it’s the front line in the war for the future of democracy. So isn’t it time we all became a bit more humane? To cast aside the fears and prejudices imposed by Russian propaganda, and see in each person, first and foremost, an individual worthy of respect and protection.