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Финансовый кризис в Греции и сокращение бюджетных расходов оказывают негативное влияние на здоровье жителей страны
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12.10.2011


К такому выводу пришли ученые из Великобритании. Их выводы публикует авторитетный британский медицинский журнал Lancet: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61556-0/fulltext
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A significant increase in HIV infections occurred in late 2010. The latest data suggest that new infections will rise by 52% in 2011 compared with 2010 (922 new cases versus 605), with half of the currently observed increases attributable to infections among intravenous drug users. Data for the first 7 months of 2011 show more than a 10-fold rise in new infections in these drug users compared with the same period in 2010. The prevalence of heroin use reportedly rose by 20% in 2009, from 20 200 to 24 100, according to estimates from the Greek Documentation and Monitoring Centre for Drugs.
Budget cuts in 2009 and 2010 have resulted in the loss of a third of the country's street-work programmes; one survey of 275 drug users in Athens in October, 2010, found that 85% were not on a drug-rehabilitation programme. Many new HIV infections are also linked to an increase in prostitution (and associated unsafe sex).
An authoritative report described accounts of deliberate self-infection by a few individuals to obtain access to benefits of €700 per month and faster admission onto drug substitution programmes. These programmes offer access to synthetic opioids and can have waiting lists of 3 years or more in urban areas.
Another indicator of the effects of the crisis on vulnerable groups is increased use of street clinics run by NGOs. Until recently, these clinics mainly catered to immigrants, but the Greek chapter of Médecins du Monde estimates that the proportion of Greeks seeking medical attention from their street clinics rose from 3—4% before the crisis to about 30%.
Despite many adverse signs, there are some indications of improvement. There have been marked reductions in alcohol consumption24 and, according to police data, drink-driving has decreased. These trends were not artifacts of reduced detection owing to budget cuts in the police force, since police checks remained the same and more drivers were screened in 2009 than 2008.
Overall, the picture of health in Greece is concerning. It reminds us that, in an effort to finance debts, ordinary people are paying the ultimate price: losing access to care and preventive services, facing higher risks of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, and in the worst cases losing their lives. Greater attention to health and health-care access is needed to ensure that the Greek crisis does not undermine the ultimate source of the country's wealth—its people.




 
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