Penza, 15 March 2016. PenzaNews. The Penza region will allocate an additional sum of 15 million rubles for measures to prevent the spread of the HIV, announced the governor Ivan Belozertsev during the roundtable meeting in the Penza city administration hall on Tuesday, March 15.

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The regional authorities realize the consequences of insufficient financial support for prevention measures, particularly at the municipal level, he stressed.

“We agreed to bring that to the [Penza region] Legislative Assembly and increase the funding of HIV prevention measures for 15 million rubles,” Ivan Belozertsev said.

According to information available on the website of the Penza dedicated clinical medical assistance center, a total of 3,056 people have been infected with the HIV in the region from 1988 to 31 December 2015, along with 259 in Zarechny.

Overall, by the end of the previous year, there were 2,168 people in the Penza region (without Zarechny) living with HIV/AIDS, with a resulting prevalence of 159.3 cases per 100,000 population. The similar figures in Zarechny reached 170 men and women, or 265.2 cases per 100,000.

The highest HIV prevalence levels in 2015 were detected in Kuznetsk (430.6 cases per 100,000), Zarechny (265.2), the Kuznetsk area (240.2), Penza city (193.7), the Penza area (164.9), the Issa area (163.6), and the Lunino area (159.3).

The average HIV prevalence is 159.3 cases per 100,000.

In 2015, the HIV infection rate in the Penza region increased by 25.6%, up to 28.8 cases per 100,000.

84.7% of the newly infected are under 40, including 3.1% under 20.

225 of the 392 people newly infected with the HIV (57.4%) live in Penza city, and 129 of them (57.3%) caught the virus through dirty injections.