In a surprise move, Russian government funds HIV prevention for gay men

For the first time in over a decade, the Russian government has given funding to an HIV prevention group aimed at men who have sex with men (MSM). The government will give 100,000 rubles (US$1,577) to the ‘To Live’ program in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth largest city, about 1,800 kilometres from Moscow.

The move is definitely a surprise, as less than two months ago the government shut down an HIV and sexual health website aimed at gay men, claiming it was gay propaganda.

“We decided to apply for funding for the target group of men who have sex with men, because this is a very discriminated against group, and this group is difficult to find money for,” said To Live’s director, Nadezhda Dernova.

“To be honest, I didn’t believe right up until the last moment that we would win the grant, but the guys who worked with me were confident that we would win.”

HIV has long been on the rise in Russia, with more than two thirds of all of Europe’s new HIV cases coming from the country. The region Yekaterinburg is in has the highest rates of new cases in Russia.

“We are losing the war on HIV in Yekaterinburg,” said Vitaly Melkovsky, one of the few people openly living with HIV and gay in Yekaterinburg, “because there is one story about the epidemic in Yekaterinburg, the huge number of people who live with HIV, and there is another story about stigma and discrimination.”

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