Richard
Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations,
told Russians on Thursday that their country is losing
the battle against HIV/AIDS because of government
inaction and a lack of public awareness.
''You are in
terrible, terrible danger here in Russia,'' said Holbrooke,
who now heads an international group that promotes
partnerships between the government and private sector
to combat HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.
''I'm terribly sorry to say this -- this is not a political
statement.''
Officially,
Russia had about 390,000 registered cases of HIV infection
as of August 2007. But international experts say the
true number of HIV carriers is closer to 1.6 million
and is expected to grow by 30% by 2010.
With 80% of
Russia's HIV cases among people age 15 to 30, the disease
poses a threat to Russia's economic competitiveness,
according to the Global Business Coalition on
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Clyde Tuggle --
Coca-Cola's president in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus --
said businesses are major stakeholders in the global battle
against AIDS. He said his company had a ''very selfish
motivation'' for joining the Global Business Coalition
initiative in Russia.
''My business is
dependent on one thing: the sustainability of this
community, on a successful, healthy, and prosperous Russia.
Without that I will have no business,'' he said,
speaking with Holbrooke at a conference in Moscow
organized by the GBC.
HIV/AIDS is
spreading faster in Russia and Ukraine than anywhere else in
the world, and 90% of HIV carriers in these countries will
not know they are infected until they get full-blown
AIDS, said Holbrooke, who heads the GBC, an alliance
of 220 international companies.
''Over the next
few years, they will be spreading it
unintentionally--and on and on and on,'' he
said. ''It's a bottomless pit.''
Vladimir Pozner,
a prominent Russian journalist who moderated Thursday's
event, said he was upset by the notable absence of Russian
business leaders.
''They did not
come because they were not told [by the authorities] to
come. Otherwise, they would have come,'' he said. ''But
partnership isn't when the government tells business
what to do.'' (AP)