Some media outlets reported that RosPil has filed yet another complaint against the Ministry of Health. Navalny asks the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to investigate the Ministry of Health’s public procurement for HIV prevention in Russia Let me explain: HIV is a massive problem for Russia. Some people still cling to the illusion that HIV/AIDS is something that happens in Africa, while Russia has only isolated cases. Here is a table from the official Ministry of Health website:
In 2000 there were 78,000 cases; in 2010, 372,000. A bad trend—an extremely bad one. This map (showing cases among people aged 15–49) makes it very clear that while some parts of Africa are much worse off, we too are moving toward the red, not the green:
More statistics here. Of course, the Ministry of Health should be making extraordinary efforts to fight the disease—above all, in prevention. And it is making an effort. In a very peculiar way. Here is the government contract for prevention services: worth 80 million rubles.
Under the terms of the tender, the winners are supposed to carry out an enormous amount of work. Hire hundreds of qualified staff. Identify tens of thousands of people and persuade them to come to service centers.
For example, in the Volga Federal District (Lot 1), the contractor is supposed to find 25,486 drug users, sex workers, homosexuals, and other people who "regularly or occasionally engage in risky behavior," tell them about the program, and persuade them to get tested for HIV. After that, they must prepare, process, and submit documentation for each individual. On the face of it, this all seems perfectly reasonable—and it is very difficult work. But do you know how much time the tender allows for it? 39 days. Everyone understands that this is impossible. Follow the contract link and look at the volume of work—you’ll see for yourself. We specifically sought expert opinions from organizations that have worked on this issue for many years, and they all say that if you actually do all this work, it will take 9 to 11 months. But if the goal is just to siphon off the money and file fake reports, then a week is enough. Most importantly: what exactly is the urgency here? Why 39 days? Why not 69? Why not 169? Do you want the appearance of action, or actual results? Do you need prevention, or just paperwork? Only those guys at the Ministry of Health know the answer—the ones who are probably already flipping through catalogs of expensive cars. I won’t dwell on the moral side of profiting and cheating on an HIV prevention program—there are no printable words for it. You can read the text of our complaint here; it lays everything out in detail. Update: a video on the subject: