While you might consider HIV to be a virus prevalent only in Africa, the 10 countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe prove otherwise. When HIV and AIDS were first discovered, the victims were shunned and treated like lepers. They were treated like social pariahs and people avoided contact with them. There were a couple of reasons behind this treatment; firstly, initially HIV was thought to be a disease limited to the gay community and at the time, associating with gay people was often a controversial issue. Secondly, since little was known about HIV as significant research was yet to be conducted, people thought that it could be spread through physical contact, and hence, completely avoided those who were known to be infected.
As the research improved, the realization that HIV and AIDS could not be transferred by casual or non-sexual physical contact, increased the acceptance of people who were suffering from the disease. However, AIDS was extremely deadly back then, and knowing that you were infected was often almost as good as a death sentence. One of the many famous persons who was responsible for spreading awareness regarding the disease was Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, who himself succumbed to the disease. An AIDS awareness concert was held in respect of his memory, and his public acknowledgment of contracting the disease gave courage to many people to come forward as well.
Jarun Ontakrai/Shutterstock.com
Another thing that people were initially unaware of was the difference between HIV and AIDS, often considering them to be one and the same. The reality is, HIV is a virus which can result in AIDS, which is the actual disease. In the United States alone, over 1.2 million are currently infected with HIV, and 1 in 8 don’t even know that they are infected.
Once AIDS got the attention of the world, the battle to fight it began, a battle which has earned considerable success in the past decade. This success led to a vast reduction in HIV and AIDS diagnosis in the developed world, though the virus is still a significant threat. Now that HIV no longer has the same celebrity status it did in the 1990s and early 2000s, funding has decreased and this could lead to further complications. If you want to know more about the occurrence of HIV in America, you might want to visit the 10 States with the Highest HIV Rates in America.
Nowadays, HIV is still vastly prevalent in Africa, and the top 10 countries in the world with the highest rates of HIV/AIDS are all from Africa. The issue is, most of the African countries are poor and hence have been unable to gather resources necessary to successfully eradicate the disease. Sadly, it looks like this trend is set to continue as no major inroads have been made in the battle against HIV in Africa–especially in countries like Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, and South Africa.
Meanwhile, even though Europe has managed to reduce HIV rates substantially, the disease has still made its presence known on the European continent. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the European countries with the highest HIV rates. To find out the countries which have the highest HIV rates in Europe, we consulted the CIA Factbook for global HIV rates and then filtered the countries from Europe to arrive at our list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe.
8. Georgia
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.28
According to Georgia Narrative Report, HIV is still a significant cause of concern in Georgia, where around 45% of those living with HIV does not even know they are infected with the disease. This could lead to significant issues later on as early detection is necessary in order to be able to successfully reduce the chances of contracting AIDS. The population which is the most at-risk is sex workers, men who have sex with men and people who inject illegal drugs. In fact, the rate of HIV in men who have sex with men has increased significantly in the past few years, which is a big issue for the country to deal with.
8. Italy
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.28
In Italy, the number 8 in our list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe HIV or AIDS are still considered to be socially unacceptable diseases, despite the fact that the country is pretty progressive overall. This leads to fewer people discussing the virus or disease, which means many people often don’t get checked, a move that often proves to be fatal. In Italy, migrant women faced the highest risk of contracting the disease. In 2014, the number of HIV cases had almost doubled when compared to 2004, a statistic which has not received the amount of attention and focus that it merited.
8. Ireland
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.28
Up next in our list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe is Ireland that is another European country failing to deal with the HIV crisis, and the number of diagnosis in 2016 increased by 25% when compared to the previous year. The majority of those infected, around 53%, were from abroad and the Irish might point the finger at immigrants being the reason why the HIV rate is so high in the country. Nearly three-fourth of those infected are male, with the disease especially prevalent among men who have sex with men.
7. United Kingdom
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.33
Over a 100,000 people in the UK have HIV, though 13% of these people do not even know about their condition. Around two-fifths of the total people who were treated for HIV actually began treatment later than they should have, which can lead to severe consequences. A person who is diagnosed late is 9 times more likely to succumb to the disease when compared with a person who seeks treatment on time. Thus, it can be assumed that the awareness pertaining to HIV is not at the level it should be at in the UK. A highly disproportionate number of HIV victims are black Africans, who only make up 2% of the total UK population.
6. Switzerland
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.35
Switzerland is often considered to be one of the best countries in the world, which is why it is surprising to find it in the list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe. Around 20,000 people in the country live with HIV, and the rate of people diagnosed with the virus increased slightly over the previous year. One of the achievements Switzerland has made in this respect is that the group which is most susceptible to the virus, men who have sex with men, has seen the rate of people being diagnosed with HIV decline slightly in the last 5 years.
5. Spain
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.42
Spain is a country which has understood and admitted that it has a problem. The rate of HIV is way too high, and Spain is aiming to use the resources at its disposal to combat the virus. Spain has used the case of the Berlin patient, the only living person who has been known to have been cured of AIDS completely, to develop a process which will be used to treat people with HIV over the next three years. In case the project is successful, we could see the country dropping out of this list in the near future.
4. Belarus
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.52
We are continuing our list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe with Belarus that has been very conservative in its approach to HIV, with the stigma of the disease still being present in the country. The country has realized this issue and hence, has embarked on a campaign to raise awareness regarding HIV while making it socially acceptable to discuss the virus as well. And though the rates of HIV in Belarus are lower than Ukraine, the rate is still increasing in the country, which is an unwanted problem on their hands.
3. Moldova
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.63
Ex-Soviet states have a tendency to feature high HIV rates, and in Moldova, this could be attributed to the high density population in the country. Furthermore, the location of the country makes it a prime area for drug trafficking and hence drug users, who can contract the virus by using infected needles.
2. Ukraine
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 0.83
Ukraine, the second one in our list of countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe, has a large percentage of drug users, may not be the most careful with the use of sterilized needles, either for lack of awareness, ability or access. Thus, using infected needles to inject drugs has seen many people contract HIV, though a large percentage of the population is not even aware of this fact. While the overall rate is low, among the drug users more than 20% of the men and 20% of the women have contracted HIV. While progress was being made in eradicating the virus, over a million people were left displaced after a conflict with Russia, which has led to an increase in the rate of HIV.
1. Estonia
Percentage of adults living with HIV/AIDS: 1.3
First xenophobia and now HIV, it seems that Estonia is not quite the paradise it purports to be. However, there may be some good news at this end. The incorrect recording may have led to people believing that more people have contracted the virus than those who actually have. While the data correction is in progress, till the news is ascertainable, Estonia tops the list of 10 countries with the highest HIV rates in Europe.
