“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” will open in Lviv on March 7. This is an initiative of the Alliance for Public Health in cooperation with the National Rehabilitation Center UNBROKEN.

“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” is a transitional barrier-free space that provides an opportunity to safely survive the experience of war in order to move on. Veterans and civilians who have already undergone physical rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center and need to adapt to new living conditions will learn new skills here.

The area of the habilitation center is 660 square meters. It has 9 rooms and 27 beds. It is planned that 300 residents will undergo rehabilitation there in a year. 

The habilitation process will be as similar as possible to what awaits veterans and wounded civilians at home. It will include independent cooking, shopping, and public transportation skills.

The idea behind the center is the term “habilitation,” which is the basis of the name and means a combination of psychological assistance, group work, and self-study. With the help of coaches, psychologists, and rehabilitation specialists, veterans and civilians will spend three weeks learning to be autonomous in an inclusive space and beyond.

The first residents of the center are:

Yana Kovaleva, a librarian from Avdiivka, was injured in the fighting and had her right leg amputated. She underwent treatment and rehabilitation at Unbroken. She is adapting to everyday life at the Lviv Habilitation Center.

Ilya Dmytryshyn, a soldier with the Air Assault Forces, was wounded during the defense of Ukraine. He was treated and rehabilitated at Unbroken. He is focusing on adaptation to the status of a veteran and a person with a disability, working on his psycho-emotional state and planning for the future at the Lviv Habilitation Center.

According to forecasts, after the victory in the war, there will be more than 5 million representatives of the veteran community in Ukraine: veterans, their families, and families of the fallen. According to the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, more than 851,068 war veterans are currently registered in Ukraine. In the active phase of hostilities, this huge number of people in need of assistance will only increase. That is why the opening of the first Habilitation Center in Ukraine aims to become a focal point for those who continue their life journey in a new context.

During the opening, it is planned to:

• Presentation of the space and direction of habilitation development in Ukraine
• Communication with residents and healthcare professionals
• Participants will be able to join a kintsugi master class with veterans

The event will be attended by:

• Andriy Klepikov – Executive Director of ICF Alliance for Public Health.
• Oleh Bereziuk – Head of the psychosocial direction of the Centre UNBREAKABLE.
• Oleh Bilyansky – Head of the UNBREAKABLE Centre.
• Residents of the centre

When: Thursday, 7 March at 12:00

Where: 86B Stryiska St. (Park Tower residential complex), video on how to find us

During the opening it is planned:

• Presentation of the space and direction of habilitation development in Ukraine
• Communication with residents and healthcare professionals
• Participants will be able to join a kintsugi masterclass with veterans

Contacts:

• Anna Horkun, PM “HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center”, +38(067) 220-90-40 (WhatsApp), horkun@aph.org.ua
• Inna Gavrylova, Senior PR and Communications Manager, Alliance for Public Health, gavrylova@aph.org.ua
  

About:

The Alliance for Public Health has 23 years of experience in implementing access and treatment sustainability programs for HIV/TB programs. Since the beginning of the war, a number of initiatives and programs have been launched: the Humanitarian Convoy, which has transported more than 1.2 million tons of cargo, launched the international emergency support and coordination program HelpNow HUB for Ukrainians around the world, we have expanded the range of services of our 50 mobile outpatient clinics, purchased bicycles in regions where social workers could not otherwise reach patients, and expanded programs to provide direct humanitarian, social and psychological support. Currently, the Alliance for Public Health supports 10 shelters for refugees and internally displaced persons across Ukraine.

The National Rehabilitation Center “UNBROKEN” is a unique place where adults and children affected by the war receive comprehensive, qualified medical care. This includes reconstructive surgery, orthopedics and robotic prosthetics. Not only do the victims receive prostheses, but they are also manufactured here. In addition, the Center provides physical, psychological and psychosocial rehabilitation for injured military and civilians. Since the start of the full-scale war, more than 16,000 Ukrainians affected by the hostilities have received help at the Center.

On March 4th, the official signing of the agreement for the start of a new project by Expertise France and the Alliance for Public Health Foundation took place. The project aims to provide comprehensive medical and psychosocial support to women with drug addiction under opioid substitution therapy programs, as well as support for victims of violence.

The project is designed for 3 years and focuses on a gender-oriented approach. “Our new partnership with Expertise France aims to expand access to critical medical services for the most vulnerable populations,” said Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health. “We will work to overcome gender barriers faced by women receiving substitution therapy treatment.”

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the All-Ukrainian Association of Women Drug Users “VONA” and Frontline AIDS, in coordination with the Global Fund, the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, and medical institutions in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Kryvyi Rih.

It is worth noting that the Alliance for Public Health already has experience collaborating with Expertise France on another important project. This is the “Mobile Treatment Points” (MTP) – mobile units providing comprehensive services in remote and liberated territories near the contact line.

“We are grateful to the French Ambassador to Ukraine Gaël Veyssière, the Director-General of Expertise France Jérémie Pellet, the Technical Director Eric Fleutelot, Arthur Langlois, and Natali Martynenko for their extraordinary support!”

Photo: Veronika Yaresko

Supporting communities in documenting experiences and solutions

Ukrainian state and non-governmental organisations and communities continue to provide crucial services for vulnerable populations in Ukraine, despite Russia’s invasion. Alongside ongoing public health challenges, huge new needs have emerged due to the war that has killed and displaced millions, disrupted supply routes, and destroyed social and medical infrastructure. OAT provision in Kharkiv, shelters for displaced people in Lviv and Krivyi Rih, TB screening in Nikopol, and mobile medical services in de-occupied frontline Kherson oblast are some of the experiences documented in a series of case studies by APH.

The studies, based on site visits and in-depth interviews, examine how organisations and services have adapted to working in both high and lower intensity conflict sites. A unique project in Warsaw, Poland helping Ukrainian refugees access medical and social services abroad is also documented. The experiences of Ukrainian medics, social workers, volunteers and project clients offer valuable lessons for planning and implementation of care provision in emergency environments, and provide a testament to their dedication, courage and innovation.

War response report

On February 21, 2023, an important meeting took place in Brussels, organized by the Alliance for Public Health, Aidsfonds, and Friends of the Global Fund Europe.

The event began with opening remarks by Serhiy Tereshko, Deputy Representative of Ukraine to the EU.

The main topic of the meeting was the discussion on combating HIV/AIDS in Ukraine amidst the full-scale invasion by Russia. International experts participating in the event discussed effective ways of cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union on the path of Eurointegration in this field.

At the beginning of 2022, it was estimated that 245,000 people were living with HIV in Ukraine. According to the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, currently, 83% of people living with HIV who know their status receive antiretroviral therapy (ART). At the same time, 95% of them have suppressed viral loads, meaning that the virus in their blood is so low that it is undetectable through laboratory tests.

Christine Stegling, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, highlighted the powerful role of civil society and communities in responding to the HIV epidemic in Ukraine amidst the war.

Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, emphasized that “despite the large-scale war, Ukraine has managed to prevent a surge in the HIV epidemic. How? Primarily through cooperation between the government sector and civil society.”

“It has been two years since Russia began its brutal war against Ukraine. Despite the challenges, we have managed to keep the HIV epidemic under control in Ukraine. How? Cooperation between the government and civil society is key. When 14 million people became internally displaced, we transitioned to providing mobile services, working in de-occupied territories and near the front line. We are implementing artificial intelligence for better detection of HIV cases, and it works! It shows 37% better results compared to the traditional model. The HIV response has demonstrated tremendous flexibility: the number of clients in some areas of Western Ukraine has increased 15 times. We offer them an extended package, which includes not only HIV services but also addressing humanitarian needs, providing mental health support, and combating other diseases,” said Andriy Klepikov.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of the war on March 1, 2022, the Alliance for Public Health, with the support of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and more than 100 international partners, launched initially the chat-bot service #HelpNow for operational assistance coordination for treatment access, and then emergency support hubs for Ukrainians in neighboring European countries. The largest number of Ukrainians traveled to Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Moldova.

An important aspect remains constant international support, as the war lasts longer than expected, and the country’s recovery cannot wait.

It is important that representatives of relevant structures, such as the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), took part in the meeting.

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to develop fruitful cooperation with the relevant structures of the European Union to ensure the most effective integration and cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in combating HIV/AIDS. A set of political recommendations will be developed and provided to all participants, and advocacy efforts will be directed in the coming months, covering various processes, including the accession process, Ukraine’s participation in relevant instruments, and the development of future financing instruments.

In the situation of an unprecedented Russian aggression, the Alliance for Public Health is, as always, at the frontlines, fighting for Ukraine and its people. We remain with the people of Ukraine in the struggle for the sovereignty of Ukraine.

February 23,  2024/ HIV in Ukraine in the midst of the war

December 31, 2023/ 2024: strong, agile and resilient! Annual statement

December 15, 2023/ Summary report of #HELPNOW HUB for 2022 -2023: 20 months of continuous assistance for 37 thousand Ukrainians around the world

December 1, 2023/  World Aids Day: Resilience Amidst War

October 23, 2023 (stories)/ More than 218,000 Ukrainians received help thanks to new initiatives: people’s life stories and ways to overcome the problems brought on by the war

June 1, 2023/ On International Children’s Day Alliance for Public Health calls to prioritize more children affected by war in Ukraine

March 24, 2023/ UNBREAKABLE AGAINST TB: Situation report on World TB Day

February 23,  2023/ 365 Days of War: Ukrainian HIV/TB Response Stands Strong!

December 31,  2022/ #HelpNow HUB 2022: Support that can’t wait!

December 01,  2022/ War crimes and violations of the rights of key communities against the background of russian military aggression

December 01,  2022/ World AIDS Day: accelerating HIV response during the war

September 01,  2022/ #HelpNow HUB — 6 months being near you to help where you are!

June 20, 2022 situation report/ Humanitarian Convoys of the APH: 111 DAYS ON THE ROAD, 111 DAYS OF AID.
June 10, 2022 situation report/ VIRAL HEPATITIS C.
June 2, 2022 situation report/ 100 days of war. Alliance for Public Health: Response to War Challenges
May 20, 2022 situation report/ POST-OCCUPATION: regions liberated from Russian occupation.
May 6, 2022 situation report/ Prevention
April 28, 2022 situation report/ Internally displaced people and refugees.
April 8, 2022 situation report/ Humanitarian aid.
April 4, 2022 situation report/ Special issue: Situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Kherson region
March 31, 2022 situation report/ Special issue: Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT)
March 26, 2022 situation report
Special Issue/ Situation in Mariupol. Situational Report: response of Alliance to challenges caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine
March 21, 2022 situation report
March 14, 2022 situation report
March 8, 2022 situation report

The ICF “Alliance for Public Health” is a pioneer in Ukraine in successfully implementing the SCLR approach. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that initiative groups of communities affected by the war are active by participating in the mini-grant competition and, with the funds received, solve urgent problems of specific people or the community as a whole, starting from digging wells to repairing and equipping shelters, medical points, creation of invincibility points, restoration of water and electricity supply. Community residents and IDPs rally to solve humanitarian needs and support vital initiatives thanks to such activities.

In the period from May 2022 to December 2023, the Alliance, within the framework of various humanitarian projects, together with its partners – regional NGOs, supported 695 public initiatives in 22 regions of the country, providing mini-grants for a total amount of more than 2 million GBP. As a result of the implementation of mini-projects, these public initiatives reached more than 436,000 affected people with various assistance. With the financial support of the Church of Sweden, within the framework of the project “Supporting community initiatives in Ukraine”, it was possible to support 159 public initiatives in 16 regions of Ukraine for over 499 pounds. Thanks to the work done, more than 131,000 Ukrainians received help.

520 children aged 3 to 17, including children with special educational needs, could spend their free time interestingly and usefully in the inclusive “Childhood Island” space in Shevchenkiv, Kharkivska Oblast. This space was created for children who lived in the occupation and did not have the opportunity to thoroughly study and communicate, as well as children who have mental disorders. Through joint efforts, it was possible to equip the room with sensory equipment to help young visitors relax and strengthen their psychological health. Also, the room is furnished with desks, laptops, a projector, bean bag chairs, easels, a karaoke microphone, a set of board games, and specialized equipment for psycho-emotional relief.

Since the primary goal of the SCLR approach is to support communities to improve their well-being in war conditions and develop their capacity to help the community and people in need further, it is the representatives of the initiative groups who actualize the needs of their community and offer their ideas for the implementation of the mini-grant. The Alliance engaged regional facilitators to help community representatives implement their projects. Facilitators became mentors to the initiative groups to unite them, prioritize their community’s problems and needs, help prepare the competitive application for receiving a mini-grant, and accompany the projects at all stages of their implementation.

The International Charitable Foundation “Center for Social Projects of the Future” from Kramatorsk, Donetska Oblast already has experience in successfully implementing mini-grants. The organization helps medical institutions in the region where, due to active hostilities, there are significant problems with the provision of medical care. To continue the work and provide high-quality essential medical services, it was necessary to purchase a new analyzer urgently. It helps to determine the levels of various biochemical indicators in the blood and is, therefore, very important for accurate diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients in medical laboratories. It also helps doctors make informed decisions about patient care. This is a significant initiative, the result of which was providing high-quality medical services to more than 200,000 residents of Kramatorsk and the Kramatorsk district, which now includes Lyman and Sviatohirsk.

Implementing community initiatives with the help of mini-grants increased trust and interaction with people who asked for help. This helped provide affected communities additional resources to develop and address their immediate needs.

“We help implement “bright” ideas aimed at quickly overcoming the consequences of the war. They come from communities that better navigate the situation on the ground and see the most effective ways to overcome challenges. Thus, mini-grants enable initiative groups to meet urgent needs quickly and are a reliable tool for solving urgent problems,” said Maryna Varban, Senior Manager of the humanitarian support program, ICF ” Alliance for Public Health”.

ICF “Alliance for Public Health”, with the financial support of the Church of Sweden and technical assistance of the charity organization Christian Aid (Great Britain), implements the approach “Supporting community initiatives” (SCLR – Survivor and community-led crisis response) in Ukraine. The mechanism for implementing the approach is to provide initiative groups with mini-grants worth up to 5,000 US dollars to implement mini-projects of assistance to local communities.

Inspired by the successful experience of implementing public initiatives with the help of mini-grants, one of the national Swedish TV channels visited Ukraine and filmed a story about people’s lives in the realities of war to raise funds for the support of the Ukrainian people. You can view the story via the link: https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/901880758/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&log_user=0&signature=6269ec43c5bf9a295ecc5948d0d1d17c48fc9df4129acf7116fb451490aa17de

The SCLR (Survivor community-led response) approach was developed and implemented by the Local to Global Protection (L2GP) initiative. This is an international initiative of workers of humanitarian organizations and activists with diverse experience in humanitarian response. The primary objective of this initiative is to document and support local responses to protection, survival, and recovery during major humanitarian crises. More details at: https://aph.org.ua/uk/resursy/sclr_ua/

For additional information on the implementation of the “Support of community initiatives” approach, instructions for preparing applications, and samples of accompanying documents, contact the coordinator of the community of practitioners Yanyshyn Josef: yanyshyn@aph.org.ua

You can join the community of practitioners by filling out the form via the link: https://forms.gle/anbEbgQKrWdoqEMN6

Alliance for Public Health together with representatives of International Harm Reduction Professional organizations, presents a strategic document: “Emerging priorities for the reduction of harms associated with recreational use of psychoactive substances in Eastern, South Eastern Europe and Central Asia”.

Despite the enormous efforts invested to prevent and eliminate the use of psychoactive substances (PAS), the evidence suggests that a relatively stable proportion of the population continue using PAS. According to global estimates, 5.6% of the world’s adult population has used drugs at least once in the past 12 months (as of 2020).

This strategic document identifies priorities and methods of harm reduction work aimed at addressing the challenges associated with the use of PAS. Harm reduction is considering as a key component of the modern approach to drug use and represents an effective response to a wide range of problems that can arise from the use of PAS.

“The new paradigm of humanity’s relationship with psychoactive substances opens up opportunities for us to use them for the good, based on scientific research. It is important to remember that the modern approach to PAS is based on understanding the various factors and individual needs of communities of people who use PAS. This document is a step to a more balanced and humanitarian approach to the problem of the use of psychoactive substances,” said Vyacheslav Kushakov, Senior Adviser of the ICF “Alliance for Public Health” and the main ideological author of the developed recommendations.

The key principles and methods of harm reduction work, according to the recommendations:

• A relatively stable share of the population choses to use psychoactive substances (PAS) despite the significant efforts. Harm reduction is an effective approach that complements supply and demand reduction measures.
• PAS use is a complex phenomenon and harm reduction work must be adapted to the diversity of substances, patterns and circumstances of their use.
• The priority in the countries of Eastern, South Eastern Europe and Central Asia is work focus on highly problematic injecting use.
• Harm reduction services should reach not only those with problems, but also those who are just beginning to experiment with or use PAS recreationally.
• Resources and efforts in the field of harm reduction must be allocated rationally, taking into account different groups ofdrug consumers and their needs.

Summing up 2023, we are proud to be relevant, agile, effective and impactful. In 2023 we managed the largest scope for the entire 23 years of our existence, with % budget increase maintaining the core business and addressing the challenges brought by the war.

In the midst of war Alliance for Public Health (APH) remains to be key civil society partner for the government as well as national response to HIV, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis.

Seems 2024 would not be easy. We are incredibly thankful to all our partners and donors, civil society and communities, volunteers and military, to all social and medical workers, nurses and doctors working on the ground. Together we are stronger. Together we will make the difference. Together we will win!

APH is wishing you wonderful holidays to recharge, as we need resilience, wisdom, inspiration and love to make 2024 a wonderful, successful and victorious year! Let’s win together!

In 2023, World AIDS Day is being observed for the second consecutive year under the shadow of Russia’s war against Ukraine. This conflict has had a devastating impact on people living with HIV in Ukraine

Nearly 20% of Ukraine’s territory has been occupied by Russia, over 10 million people have been displaced within or outside Ukraine, and more than 1,500 medical facilities have been damaged or completely destroyed.

Since the early days of the large-scale invasion, the Alliance for Public Health, along with other civil society organizations, has been working tirelessly to ensure a sustained response to the HIV epidemic and address new humanitarian needs caused by the war.

We share this SitRep on the HIV epidemic in the context of war: read more