MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Reductions in international funding for HIV prevention and treatment will not affect the HIV situation in Russia because the country has achieved intellectual sovereignty in this field, chief freelance HIV specialist at the Russian Health Ministry Alexey Mazus told TASS.

"Russia's HIV control programs do not depend on international funding, so changes in the activities of international organizations cannot affect, let alone threaten, the country's virological security. Given the extensive discussion surrounding funding cuts, it is also worth noting that by distancing itself from the new Political Declaration at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting in June, Russia once again affirmed its intellectual sovereignty in such a socially important area as the fight against AIDS," he said.

Mazus added that the balance of contributions is, if anything, the opposite, noting that Russia has been a donor to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). He said that in a number of areas, including universal access to HIV testing, early diagnosis, the provision of free treatment for patients, and the near elimination of mother-to-child transmission, Russia's national HIV response model serves as a benchmark for modern global healthcare.

He also noted that the effective implementation of Russia's national strategy to combat the spread of HIV through 2030 makes it possible to state with confidence that the epidemic remains under stable control. He noted that over the 10 years since the strategy was launched, the incidence of HIV infection in Russia has fallen to a historic low.