Russian TV host Pavel Lobkov made
history last week with an announcement on live television that he's
HIV-positive.
Lobkov is the first major Russian
figure to publicly discuss his status and the stigma he's faced.
“The doctor, with a face like a
Soviet buddha, told me, 'You can no longer use the program of
voluntary medical insurance because you've been diagnosed with HIV,'”
Lobkov told his audience during Tuesday's World AIDS Day broadcast.
Lobkov said that he hopes to promote
greater tolerance by coming forward.
He explained that his 2003 diagnosis
led to him being excluded from his employer's insurance and that
doctors refused to treat him.
“It's not the done thing to talk for
real [about HIV],” Lobkov said. “Maybe after this shock there
will be a discussion about what these medicines are, and are there
enough doctors specializing in this, is their knowledge adequate to
treat HIV infections?”
The number of new HIV cases in Russia
is rising, up 12 percent this year as of November 1.
“The government can fight social
phobias, it should have information campaigns on tolerance,
acceptance,” Lobkov
said. “If there will be tolerance, people will go do [HIV]
tests, then they will go [to] therapy, and the epidemic will start to
die.”