Russian HIV initiatives get further $24m

A Russian HIV/AIDS programme that has been built up over the last five years with the support of an $89m grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has received the funding needed to operate for a further two years. The Global Fund has approved an additional $24m to fund the programme until the end of 2011. The prevention programme, described by the Global Fund as "successful", is targeted at "highly vulnerable" groups, and runs across the country's 83 administrative regions. An estimated 1 million people are infected with HIV in Russia. The government has contributed $226m to the Global Fund, and supports other initiatives nationally.