Best practices of HIV prevention among sex workers in the Russian Federation 2001-2011

Understanding of the burden of HIV in populations who are most at risk is poor, largely because these populations are poorly represented in national HIV surveillance systems and are hidden and stigmatized in many settings. Female sex workers have been reported to be at high risk for HIV infection in nearly every setting where they have been studied, yet in 2012 we still have limited understanding of the relative burden of HIV in these women.
Interventions targeting behavioral and structural-level risk factors for HIV among sex workers have proven successful for increasing protective behaviours and decreasing HIV and STI transmission. Despite these promising results, in Russia, the 2010-2011 UNGASS report indicates only 3% of sex workers are reached by HIV programmes across the country.
From 2001 to 2011, the best practices of HIV prevention among sex workers were collected in 75 cities of 50 Russian regions. The projects implemented in the Russian Federation used the comprehensive prevention model aimed at organizing accessible and adequate health services for sex workers.
After project financing stops, 13 organizations are planning to continue HIV/AIDS prevention activities among sex workers . However, it is obvious that without adequate support it would be difficult to maintain sustainability of the programmes.