MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. The incidence of HIV infection has decreased by 40% since 2016 and is now at its historic low, thanks to the implementation of the State Strategy, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said in his greeting to participants of the 10th all-Russian forum for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

"It should be noted that the epidemic of HIV infection in our country remains stably controlled. The previous State Strategy to Combat the Spread of HIV in Russia was launched in 2016; since then, the HIV incidence rate in Russia has decreased by almost 40%. Today, it is at a historic low," the Russian health minister stated.

He noted that Russia continues to annually reduce new HIV infections and maintain its leading position globally in terms of HIV testing coverage. "In 2023, approximately 35% of the country's total population was tested. At the same time, the number of new HIV infections was about 55,000, which is 1.5% lower than the previous year," Murashko highlighted.

Additionally, he reported that the coverage of antiretroviral therapy is expanding: according to the Federal Register of HIV patients, it reached almost 90% by the end of 2023, which is more than 6% higher than the target indicator of the State Strategy.