The Mayor of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Vysokinsky, has announced that Yekaterinburg will become the first city in the Russian Federation to sign the Paris Declaration to end the AIDS epidemic.

In signing the Paris Declaration, Yekaterinburg will commit to putting the city on the Fast-Track to ending the AIDS epidemic through reaching the 90–90–90 targets, whereby, by 2020, 90% of people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status will be accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment will have suppressed viral loads.

According to government statistics, more than 22 000 people are living with HIV in Yekaterinburg.

In announcing the decision to sign the Paris Declaration, Mr Vysokinsky noted that the initiative will encourage innovations and cutting-edge treatment programmes to address HIV and other health challenges and will contribute to a better life for future generations.

Since the launch of the Fast-Track cities initiative on 1 December 2014, about 300 cities and municipalities around the world have signed the Paris Declaration. Leaders in those cities have recognized that their strategies for responding to the AIDS epidemic also offer them a platform to address the need for social inclusion, public services, primary health care and community mobilization.

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