UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Doc. 1 — The number of detected cases of AIDS has increased by almost a quarter in the first eight months of 2025 compared to 2021, said Kharkiv charity fund “Parus” in the press release sent to Gwara Media. They also noted that HIV testing has increased in the region compared to 2021.
According to the “Parus”, from January to October 2025, they recorded 463 cases of HIV, 191 cases of AIDS, and 50 AIDS-related death in the Kharkiv region. For comparison, in 2021, these figures were: 487 cases of HIV, 132 cases of AIDS, and 63 AIDS-related deaths.
“Thus, in the first 10 months of 2025, out of 654 people confirmed to have HIV, 117 were first identified in the harm reduction program and referred to healthcare facilities by specialists from our organization,” the experts noted.
The increase in the number of AIDS cases might be attributed to people not knowing their HIV status or their delayed seeking of medical care. In these situations, they could have also infected their partners.
The specialists said that the incidence of HIV in the Kharkiv region increased during the full-scale Russia-Ukraine war, but it did not reach the highest rates in the country, such as in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
On Doc. 1, on World AIDS Day, “Parus” with the medical centers “Alternative” and “Innovation” organized an educational campaign in Kharkiv, where locals could anonymously join free and rapid HIV testing, receive counseling, and learn more information about the virus.
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