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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia can successfully prevent HIV/AIDS

Belgrade, 7 November 2005

Counsellor for the Serbian Ministry of Health and Secretary of the commission to fight against HIV/AIDS Ivana Misic said today that even without means provided by the Global Fund, Serbia can successfully prevent HIV/AIDS with the help of donations from other countries and by using its own resources.

Speaking at a press conference concerning the procurement of means necessary for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Misic said that in the coming year the working group that designed the project, which was not approved by the Global Fund this year because of technical failings, will be reassessed.

Danijela Simic, an epidemiologist from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Milan Jovanovic Batut”, said that currently in Serbia the official number of registered HIV cases is 1,113, adding that every year approximately 100 new individuals are registered.

Simic said that of the 1,113 HIV positive persons, three-fourths are male, and it is estimated that in Serbia the total number of infected is from five to ten thousand.

According to Simic, since the beginning of this year 90 new cases of HIV infection have been reported, which reflects a trend that has lasted the previous ten years, taking into consideration that annually nearly 100 new cases are registered and the largest number of new registered cases are in Belgrade.

Simic said that from the start of the epidemic until October 31 of this year, 2,003 HIV positive persons have been reported and registered and that 1,290 of these developed AIDS while 890 died of the disease.

She said that since 1999 there has been a decrease in the number of deaths and development of disease because of the therapy available to patients now. She added that there is an increase in the number of infected women and the stable trend of new discovered cases and a growth in the number of persons who live with HIV/AIDS.

She said that with the promotion of testing and the opening of several counselling facilities, the rate of HIV testing has grown 5 percent, remarking that HIV is being spread mainly through unprotected sexual intercourse.