The government opposed fines for HIV-infected people

The Russian government opposed the introduction of administrative liability for HIV-infected people who are not registered. It is reported by RBC with reference to the report of the ministers to President Vladimir Putin.

The order to work out the possibility of introducing fines for HIV-infected people for refusing to register Putin gave in May 2016 at a meeting of the Security Council, the report says.

To fulfill the order, the government organized an interdepartmental discussion with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, Rospotrebnadzor, as well as several universities and research organizations.

Departments and organizations spoke out against the introduction of liability for those infected. They concluded that such a measure would not help "create the trusting, partnership that needs to be established between the healthcare facility and the patient."

In addition, the government emphasized that this would lead to the abolition of the rule on the anonymity of taking an HIV test and could significantly reduce the number of people who want to take an HIV test.

Also, the Ministry of Health, following the instructions of the President, organized public hearings. During the discussion, the initiative also did not find support.

Currently, patients with HIV are not required to register. Information about positive tests should be sent by the citizen to the AIDS Centers.

In January 2016, the number of HIV-infected people in Russia reached one million people. According to the Ministry of Health, in 2015, 581.7 thousand people with HIV were registered.

Recall that the Russian government has adopted a state strategy to combat the spread of HIV infection for 2016-2020. It is expected that the financing of the program will amount to 13 billion rubles a year.