AIDS timebomb in eastern Europe?

According to the World Health Organisation, there are one million HIV-positive people in the former Soviet Union. Admittedly, there are something like 200million people in the former Soviet Union, but it is still a lot of people (assuming that these estimates bear some approximation to reality). And the problem could get worse due to intravenous drug use and unprotected sex.

The figures are compiled by the Institut de Veille Sanitaire.

They note that AIDS cases and deaths have been falling in recent years in the West, due to the use of anti-retroviral drugs. Figures for central Europe are still low. There were 6 cases of AIDS per million population in central Europe, as compared to 20 cases per million population in the West. In the East, the rate is 349 per million in the last year.