HIV-positive Russians have appealed to the country's leadership to deal with the shortage of HIV drugs, a public activist said on Wednesday.
More than 5,000 people have signed a petition, Alexei Burlak, coordinator of HIV People, an all-Russia public organization, said.
Rallies were held across Russia earlier this fall to raise awareness of the shortage of anti-HIV medications in hospitals. According to Russia's Health Care Foundation, half of HIV-positive patients will not receive the life-saving drugs they need this year.
December 1 is World AIDS Day, declared by the World Health Organization in 1988 to raise awareness of the deadly disease.
People with AIDS should not be afraid to go to court if their right to medical treatment is violated, lawyer Irina Khrunova said.
"HIV-infected people should go to court to protect their rights," she said.
However, many people were afraid to go to lawyers as that would mean "disclosing their status," Alexandra Volgina of the Svecha charity foundation said.
Health Minister Tatyana Golikova last Wednesday said all of Russia's regions were fully supplied with medication for the treatment of HIV and hepatitis strains B and C.
Shortages have been recorded in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Arkhangelsk, Vladimir, Saratov, Kaliningrad and other areas.
According to official statistics, there are more than 500,000 people living with HIV in Russia.
The government has earmarked more than 13 billion rubles ($430 million) to HIV treatment this year and plans to raise the figure to 19 billion rubles ($606 million) in 2011.
MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti)
