(3 May 1997) Russian/Eng/Nat
The former Soviet republic of Ukraine isn't just suffering an economic crisis.
An epidemic of the worst kind is spreading through the nation and the government doesn't have the knowledge or the funds to stop it.
More and more cases of AIDS are breaking out all over the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine has taken the deadly lead in the number of new cases.
International health officials warn that if a prevention program is not implemented immediately HIV which causes AIDS - will rage out of control.
These men, victims of Ukraine's latest epidemic, are now patients at Odessa's one and only AIDS ward.
The number of new arrivals here grows every day.
Three major areas in the former Soviet Union are under attack by the HIV virus - which causes AIDS - northwestern Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
At this AIDS wards in Odessa doctors are overwhelmed with the sickly -- they have neither the funds nor the personnel to deal with the mounting problem.
Last year alone the number of AIDS patients in Odessa jumped from 1,000 to 5,500.
Doctors and experts agree that the AIDS virus is closely connected to intravenous drug users.
With drug abuse on the rise, AIDS infection has also skyrocketed.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Here most of our problems with AIDS were brought by drug addicts -- well yes, of course prostitution and sexual promiscuity plays a role but most of the spread is due to drug users. If in the west AIDS was connected with the homosexual population, here the AIDS infection and its spread is concentrated with drug addicts."
SUPER CAPTION: Anatoly Ptashnik, Head Doctor at AIDS ward
Shooting up in the former Soviet Union is a dangerous pastime.
Most addicts are unaware of the dangers of sharing needles.
Many have no idea how AIDS is spread or think that it is a problem only in places like the United States or Africa.
Public health information is almost non-existent.
Officials still view AIDS as a foreigners' disease and have done little to educate the populations most susceptible - mainly drug users and prostitutes.
The last year-and-a-half has seen the cases of HIV infection in the former Soviet Union skyrocket.
In Ukraine alone there are now more than 15,000 suffering from AIDS -- experts believe the official figures are only a fraction of the true number of cases.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's becoming a very serious problem. Two years ago we had very few cases of HIV and then last year there were something like 30 new cases a week. This year there is something like 300 new cases a week, so it's really becoming a major problem that has to be dealt with."
SUPER CAPTION: Rob Moody, Director of UN AIDS country support, Russia
These unfortunate children are the offspring of Ukraine's terrible epidemic.
Born to mothers with AIDS they are relegated to Odessa's only facility for AIDS babies.
The medical establishment is unsure how to care for these children -- they are still treated like lepers by many, dismissed as untouchables who can never be cured.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"No-one wants these babies, everyone wants to put them out of sight and out of mind. No-one is prepared for this problem, not the government, not the medical establishment. They have no idea what to do with them."
SUPER CAPTION: Iona Olanacenka, doctor and pediatrician
It is children like these who will carry the legacy of Ukraine's AIDS epidemic.
Many of these children may not live to see the AIDS epidemic reach its full proportions.
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