HIV/AIDS

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Adult content creator detained in Daghestan ‘denied access to HIV medication’

•2 min read

A queer adult content creator who was detained in Daghestan at the end of May is reportedly being denied access to HIV medication. Rights groups report that he was misled into travelling to Daghestan, and then used to identify other queer people. Matvey Volodni, a porn blogger from Moscow who posts under the handle USSRboy, reportedly began a ‘Caucasian tour’ on 23 May with the intention of filming adult videos in the North Caucasus. Volodin was officially detained on charges of hooliga

Nakhchivan State Customs Committee building. Photo: Azertag

Azerbaijan

Podcast | HIV in Georgia and Nakhchivan’s diminishing autonomy

by OC Media

•1 min read

Dustin Gilbreath, a non-resident senior fellow at CRRC Georgia, talks about the prevalence of HIV in Georgia and the stigma surrounding it, and a CRRC Georgia study that suggested that incentivising people to test for HIV and making tests more accessible can encourage more young people to self-test. Read more: * Datablog | Nudging Georgians to self-test for HIV Bahruz Samadov, a researcher at Charles University in Prague, discusses the future of the Nakhchivan exclave

The Infectious diseases Centre in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: Tamuna Chkareuli/OC Media.

COVID-19

Tbilisi Infectious Diseases Hospital suspends inpatient care due to disrepair

by OC Media

•2 min read

Tbilisi’s Infectious Diseases Hospital has suspended inpatient care for patients with COVID-19 and HIV due to the conditions in the building. The hospital’s director, Tengiz Tsertsvadze, confirmed to the Public Broadcaster that this would be the case from 20 August for an undetermined period, because there was an ‘absence of the vital conditions’ in the facility. The state-owned Infectious Diseases Hospital and its director have been on the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 pandem

Tamuna Gakhokidze. Photo: Geda Darchia/Women of Georgia

Domestic Violence

Voice | ‘I left prison with a double stigma — I was a convict and HIV-positive’

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•7 min read

Women in Georgia very often lack a voice of their own. Their opinions, feelings, dreams, aspirations, and achievements can be conveyed by others, often the men around them. The Women in Georgia project gives a voice to these women, allowing them to tell their own stories — in their own words. OC Media brings you a selection of these stories, translated into English and Russian. Here, in her own words, is Tamuna Gakhokidze, 37, from Tbilisi. ‘I am the only woman in Georgia who came out as HIV-p

Chechnya

Mandatory HIV testing prior to marriage proposed in Daghestan

by OC Media

•4 min read

HIV testing before marriage could become mandatory in the Russian Republic of Daghestan, if new proposals by the head of the republic’s Consumer Protection and Welfare Service are adopted. At a session of Daghestan’s parliament, the People’s Assembly on 28 December, Eleonora Omarieva suggested MPs adopt legislation to make testing compulsory. She argued the testing was needed to combat an annual increase in the number of HIV cases in Daghestan. The practice of testing for HIV before mar

Armenia

Living with HIV in Armenia: ‘Society’s cruelty will kill you’

by Armine Avetisyan

•5 min read

An Armenian women infected with HIV by her husband sat down with OC Media to talk about her life with the virus, the struggle to reclaim her place in society, and the newly found strength to overcome public prejudice and be able to enjoy her life again. ‘My life is divided into two stages, before 2013 — and after. There are two of me now, the first one sees everyone, and the other sees only me. That me is ill with AIDS’, Anna (not her real name) tells OC Media. Anna is 40, and lives in

Daghestan

Living with HIV in Daghestan

by Aida Mirmaksumova

•4 min read

The number of new HIV infections in Daghestan in the first half of 2017 was up from last year. Doctors in the republic worry about the lack of public awareness — and a lack of resources. HIV is not a death sentence Marat, 39, is HIV positive. He learned this 13 years ago. Marat has accepted his diagnosis and decided not to isolate himself from society, instead engaging in social activism. ‘I used to think HIV could only happen to people who use drugs or men with a non-traditional se