Ukraine Accepts $60M World Bank Loan To Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on Wednesday accepted a $60 million World Bank loan to fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, both of which have spread rapidly in the country following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. Ukraine has the highest HIV prevalence in Eastern Europe. The Ukrainian Health Ministry earlier this month announced that 60,000 Ukrainians are officially registered as HIV-positive, but the United Nations estimates that the number of HIV-positive people in the country is actually 10 times higher, according to the AP/Newsday. Injection drug use has "fuel[ed]" the spread of HIV/AIDS, and the number of TB cases in Ukraine recently has doubled to nearly 700,000, according to the AP/Newsday (AP/Long Island Newsday, 12/3).
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