OREANDA-NEWS. November 1, 2010. At the beginning of this year October CEO of Concern Galnaftogaz (ОККО filling complexes network) Vitaliy Antonov participated in a meeting with former President of the United States William Jefferson Clinton at the invitation of ANTIAIDS Foundation. Questions of integrating the efforts of good will people from the whole world to fight "XXth century plague" were discussed during the meeting. William J. Clinton Foundation and ANTIAIDS Foundation started joint program which aim is to purchase equipment for rapid HIV testing for Ukrainian hospitals.

"Unfortunately, we took statistics concerning AIDS very carelessly, – Vitaliy Antonov marked. – But statistics is dangerous. Today, according to Ministry of Health estimates, over 160 thousand people in Ukraine are officially registered as HIV infected. World Health Organization claims that there are over 360 thousand HIV infected people in Ukraine. And only near 10% of patients with AIDS get necessary treatment. By the way, Ukraine is among top five countries in the world by the tempo of AIDS expansion. And rapid and high quality diagnostics is essential for correct treatment".

According to official data, today there are over 150 million HIV infected on the planet. AIDS takes away 5 million lives annually. According to World Health Organization and UNAIDS prognosis, there will be 1.5 million HIV infected persons in Ukraine before 2010 is out. Donetsk region leads in Ukraine by the amount of HIV infected; Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions, Crimea and Kyiv City follow it. One third of HIV infected in Ukraine are women.

ОККО filling complexes network had contributed UAH 1 million 247 thousand to William J. Clinton Foundation and ANTIAIDS Foundation joint project to purchase an equipment for rapid HIV testing for Ukrainian hospitals.