Russian TV host Pavel Lobkov announces HIV positive status live TV

He is the first public figure in Russia to be openly HIV positive

Pave (Wikimedia commons/ ПОКА ТУТ )

A popular Russian TV host announced his HIV-positive status live on television on Tuesday evening, becoming the first openly HIV positive public figure in the country to do so.

Pavel Lobkov, an anchor on the independent station Dozhd, made his announcement to coincide with World Aids Day on Tuesday, according to a report by AFP.

Lobkov, 48, described how he went for testing at a private clinic in 2003 and was made aware of his diagnosis when a folder containing his medical details had HIV+ written across it in red pen. The doctor then informed him he could no longer be treated at that clinic because of his status.

“With the expression of a Soviet Buddha the doctor said: 'You've been scrapped from the medical insurance programme, because you have been diagnosed with HIV,” he said during the broadcast. “Your case has been passed on to the Moscow health committee, where you will be put on a list. All the best, goodbye!’”

Lobkov was reportedly sacked from the state NTV network after speaking out against Vladimir Putin's re-election in 2012.

Russia has one of the highest rates of HIV diagnosis, with 1,000 new cases being found on average each month and the infection rate increasing 10 per cent each year.

In March, senior Russian HIV/Aids experts predicted the country faces an epidemic, with at least five million people expected to be diagnosed with HIV. Conservative policies in Russia and intravenous drug use have been largely blamed for fuelling the increase in infection rates.