| Eastern Europe and Central Asia Eastern Europe - especially Russia - has the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the world. The crisis is fuelled mainly by intravenous drug use, especially among young men. Given the high odds of transmission through needle-sharing, and the fact that these young people are almost all sexually active, the UN has warned that a huge epidemic may be imminent.
| People with HIV: | 1.2m |
| New HIV cases in 2002: | 250,000 |
| Deaths from Aids in 2002: | 25,000 |
| Children (under 15) with Aids by end of 2002: | 16,000 |
| Source: UNAIDS, 2002 |
| Aids deaths in 2001 |
| Ukraine: | 11,000 |
| Russia: | 9,000 |
| Belarus: | 1,000 |
| Romania: | 350 |
| Source: UNAIDS, 2002 |
From the archive:
HIV hits Eastern Europe youth
Russia 'facing African levels of Aids'
Aids races through Eastern Europe
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