December 08, 2022

The UNION World Conference: APH turns world’s eyes to the issue of TB in wartime Ukraine

We continue using every opportunity and every platform to draw international attention to the war in Ukraine and the problem of tuberculosis in war time.

This year, Alliance for Public Health has again participated in the Union World Conference on Lung Health that took place from 8-11 November 2022. During the four-day online event, the APH together with their partners organized topical sessions and discussions on TB response both on the main stage of the conference and in Community Connect, a special section for civil society and community members.

The activities included: “The effective collaboration and resiliency of TB program, community and Civil Society Organizations to end TB under the challenging war conditions in Ukraine”  session chaired by Zahedul Islam, Director of Treatment, Procurement and Supply Management department at the APH and involving speakers Iana Terleieva (Head of TB Management and Response department of the Public Health Center of the MoH of Ukraine), Liliana Caraulan (Stop TB Partnership) and Olha Tsvilii (senior project manager at the APH); “Challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of the tuberculosis program during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience from Cambodia, Ecuador, India, and Ukraine” session organized by the APH as part of the Frontline AIDS partnership, chaired by Zahedul Islam, Director of Treatment, Procurement and Supply Management department at the APH and involving partners from Khana Cambodia, Corporación Kimirina, LEPRA Society and Evgenia Geliukh, senior HIV/TB project manager at the APH who presented our experience in TB response during the pandemic; and “Combining efforts and conducting joint advocacy activities between civil society and various government bodies: The executive (government), parliamentarians, and local authorities” panel discussion organized by the APH and chaired by Zahedul Islam, Director of Treatment, Procurement and Supply Management department at the APH.

Besides, our employees moderated and spoke at other session and and expert discussions during opening and closing of the conference, including a presentation of E-posters, oral abstract session on strengthening national and global policies and lessons learnt, discussion of case-finding and treatment, where Evgenia Geliukh, senior HIV/TB project manager at the APH shared our experience of active TB case-finding among at-risk populations during the hostilities in Ukraine.

This year, the Union Conference for the first time included a creative session where the APH presented two videos about our innovative project on supporting mental health of people living with TB and a joint video with Frontline AIDS on TB response during the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries of the world.

During the last panel discussion of Community Connect session, at the end of the Union Conference 2022, a new composition of Union Community Advisory Panel/UCAP was announced, where Zahedul Islam will represent the European region and the position of civil society and communities affected by TB.

 

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December 02, 2022

On December 1-2, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health paid an official visit to Ireland

On the International AIDS Day, Dr. Andrey Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, paid an official visit to Ireland to share his experience in the HIV/AIDS response.

The program of the visit, which lasted on December 1-2, 2022, included a series of meetings and speeches, where Dr. Klepikov spoke about the unbreakable struggle of Ukrainians against Russia’s terrorist aggression in Ukraine, the huge losses of medical infrastructure, innovations and changes in approaches to the work of the Alliance’s team since the beginning of the large-scale war in Ukraine, which the Alliance team has made.

The program of the official visit to Ireland started with a meeting at the Embassy of Ukraine in Ireland.

At the meeting with Mrs. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland, the difficulties faced by Ukrainians in Ireland in accessing medical services and receiving treatment were discussed.

Andriy Klepikov told the Ambassador about the work of the international hub HelpNow, which helps Ukrainians to access HIV treatment by coordinating requests from Ukrainian patients in more than 35 countries. In Ireland, the hub works with the local organization HIV Ireland (https://www.hivireland.ie). During the entire period of the hub’s work, one third of all requests for treatment in Ireland came from Dublin.

The meeting also discussed ways to strengthen the information field and focuses for the most effective broadcasting of information on the situation on the public health front, as well as reputable media and possible channels for the organization to raise additional funds.

It should be noted that the Alliance for Public Health, with the support of more than 100 non-governmental organizations from around the world, initiated and organized the emergency launch of the international coordination hub HelpNow. The hub began its work on March 1, 2022 in response to the crisis, which was facilitated by Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The official website of the hub with a list of all services is https://helpnow.aph.org.ua. So far, 13,000 cases have been supported with treatment and/or other critical services at the new location.

The next step was an official meeting with the Senators and Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Relations Defense

Andriy Klepikov, Charles Flanagan, the Chairman of the Committee and Senators Gerard Crowell, Joe O’Reilly discussed the pressing issues for Ukrainians today, in the context of the impact of the full-scale Russian invasion on people living with chronic diseases and fighting for their lives every day. Migration issues, humanitarian problems, problems in access to support and treatment services, as well as the consequences that the whole world is already seeing in the de-occupied territories were discussed separately.

Separately, the issue of the cold season and ways to help, to provide support to Ukrainians who need it in humanitarian, medical and consulting contexts were raised.

Mr. Charles Flanagan expressed his admiration for the courage of Ukrainian civil society, and stressed that the meetings and information presented by Andriy Klepikov help to keep the topic of support for Ukraine “at the top of the agenda”.

Lecture for students on the resilience of Ukrainians

Also, the Executive Director of Alliance for Public Health gave a lecture for students of Trinity College Dublin.

At the lecture, Andriy Klepikov spoke about the war in Ukraine, its impact on the work of NGOs and the challenges they heroically overcome to help people living with chronic diseases.

Students were also presented with the general situation on HIV detection and treatment, as well as the work of the international hub HelpNow, which helps Ukrainians with access to HIV treatment, coordinating requests from Ukrainian patients in more than 35 countries.

Alliance for Public Health expresses its sincere gratitude to partners Irish Aid and Global Health Network for organizing the official visit, and to thank everyone for their interest in the problems in Ukraine due to the full-scale invasion of Russia and the constant support of Ukrainians around the world.

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November 30, 2022

World AIDS Day: accelerating HIV response during the war

1st of December 2022 is different from any other World AIDS Day. In Ukraine we are summing up HIV response during russian war against Ukraine.

These 9 months of war caused the largest population move in Europe since WW2 ep –15 mln Ukrainians left their homes as internally displaced people (IDPs) or refugees; over 1000 Ukrainian medical facilities have been destroyed or damaged, about 20% of the Ukrainian territory occupied by russian invaders – committing war crimes against civilians, cutting access to essential services and treatment, torturing and killing people with HIV and TB.

Since the first days of war Alliance for Public Health (APH) has been working with other civil society and community organizations, medical facilities, governmental organizations and Ministry of Health to sustain HIV response.

“The is a latest report, not only summarizing huge challenges for nearly 300 of war, but rather providing some data and lessons learned on sustaining and in moreover accelerating HIV response (this time it focuses on HIV on the eve of World AIDS Day). While with such damage of energy sector and daily power cuts, life is getting more challenging, we are continue working addressing both health and humanitarian needs, – said Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health. – Thank you for keeping supporting Ukraine, thank you for investing in community and civil society. Just a couple of highlights. It makes the difference! Every 2nd newly diagnosed person with HIV during the war was found and got tested within APH projects. 84% of new PrEP clients were navigated by APH and its implementing partners. When hospitals got destroyed by missiles and shelling, 40 mobile ambulances continue provision of essential services”.

With this report we are sharing our highlights based on unique experience of APH and is partners. We actually issued the Situation Report as well as a special brief video, please find the link below:

Report

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November 22, 2022

STEP-UP: The best expert course for practical advocacy work in the HIV field available online soon

The production of video lessons for the online training platform STEP-UP MOOC is underway with great anticipation. The programme was developed by the European Aids Treatment Group (EATG) in partnership with the Alliance for Public Health (APH).
We are delighted to share with you the first exclusive behind the scenes photos of the best experts in their fields, working hard to create a unique programme that will be available in 2023.
About the program and the new format
The STEP-UP modular training program was developed to train activists and all those interested in HIV and their personal development. It was mainly created to support those who want to become more active in the work to eliminate AIDS and support vulnerable communities. This time, the annual programme will consist of an online module, an offline event and a competition to support mini-grants and advocacy initiatives.
“The focus of STEP-UP has always been to bring together activists from across Europe and Central Asia to build their capacity in accordance with local and regional needs,” says Pieter Vanholder, Director of EATG, adding that the STEP-UP programme empowers the movement of new HIV activists.
“Since its inception, over 120 alumni have benefited from STEP-UP and some have been awarded grants to implement small projects; we are proud of their success stories and their evolution,” Vanholder reiterates.
Students of the online course who score the highest on the test will receive a bonus in the form of mini-grants for the implementation of their project and a trip to a bonus 3-day coaching seminar with the course instructors. The program of the seminar will be tailored to the requests of the group participants for a more in-depth analysis of advocacy scenarios and the development of specific cases of participants.
A capacity building network for HIV advocates
The transition to the online format aims to provide wider access to all interested activists in the region who seek to gain new knowledge or expand existing ones in a convenient format everywhere, globally.
The only requirement to take part in the STEP-UP MOOC programme is a desire to participate, as there will be no selection process involved to choose participants.
“The content and languages of the training will be specifically tailored to the needs of HIV activists in the WHO European Region, we expect that most participants will come from the HIV sector and therefore have prior knowledge of HIV and related infections,” the organizers say.
The curriculum consists of a self-paced e-learning approach with a combination of trainings on networking, empowerment and advocacy.
Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate, and students who scored the highest in the test will receive a bonus in the form of mini-grants to implement their project. They will also get a trip to a bonus 3-day coaching workshop with the course instructors.
The plan is that STEP-UP MOOC will be available online from January 2023. Learn more about STEP-UP: https://bit.ly/3gfqIpD
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November 14, 2022

The Alliance donated sanitary cars for military doctors, the funds for which were collected for #AIDS2022

We are pleased to finally share the results of the charity collection for ambulances for Ukrainian doctors, which we held at the 24th International AIDS Conference AIDS 2022, held in Montreal (Canada) from July 29 to August 3, 2022.

“Ukraine is unconquered, and Ukrainians are unbreakable. We will stand and win, because we have no other way. But we need the support of the world more than ever!
Personally and on behalf of the Alliance and all Ukrainians, I am sincerely grateful to everyone who contributed to raising funds for minibuses to evacuate the wounded from the war zone to the nearest hospitals, – said Pavlo Smyrnov, Deputy Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health. And we managed to buy not 1 but 2 cars. I shake hands with everyone and report that we quickly managed to buy buses in the Netherlands. Both buses were successfully delivered to Kyiv, where they underwent the necessary repairs. Already in excellent technical condition they went to the zone of active hostilities. They were also camouflaged for greater safety of medics and wounded. Used cars now have a new mission – to #save human #lives at the front. And I really believe they will serve this mission as long as possible.”
So, a detailed story about how Ukrainians were supported by conference participants from all over the world, how we raised funds and talked about Ukraine, how and where the cars were purchased, brought to Ukraine, technically improved and transferred to the front line!

Many thanks to all participants of #AIDS2022 who supported with donations and not only, sincere thanks to all partners who helped at every step, the Alliance for Public Health team and #SoS_project – you are incredible, you always do more!

Thanks to everyone who helped to organize the whole process: from the ambitious idea “to raise funds for at least 1 car in a couple of days” and to organize everything to the final transfer of 2 cars to the front line.

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November 01, 2022

Global report on the state of harm reduction 2022 published

A new report on the Global State of Harm Reduction 2022 shows an increase in the global use of solutions to reduce harm from HIV and the overdose epidemic.

According to the report, the number of countries implementing harm reduction services that prevent overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases has increased for the first time since 2014.

For the first time, the foreword to the report was written by a representative of the community of people who use drugs and he is Ukrainian – Anton Basenko, Community, Rights and Gender Advisor at the Alliance for Public Health and Program Manager at EATG.

Thus, he told the story of a woman from one of the eastern regions of Ukraine who uses drugs, which is an illustration of the strength and solidarity of the community of drug users. “Her story is one of many stories of networks of people who use drugs helping each other. Despite the number of destroyed facilities and displaced people who use drugs due to the war, I am proud to say that our global harm reduction family is unstoppable and our desire to help each other is so strong that we can only move forward…”

“…The report shows where we are today, colorfully and clearly, with facts and evidence. It shows the world we can create when people who use drugs, people who work in nongovernmental organizations, people who make laws and policies at the national and local levels come together; a world based on mutual respect that supports diversity, health, rights and freedom, a world free from judgment and stigma.”

Regarding the war, the report highlighted the extraordinary efforts of NGOs and civil society organizations in Ukraine and neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to provide shelter, food, medicine and harm reduction supplies to Ukrainian regions that were cut off logistically or where people could not leave their homes. Support for the evacuation of people who use drugs from Donetsk and Luhansk was noted, as well as ensuring that community and civil society organizations could continue to provide harm reduction services in Donetsk.

To get acquainted with the Alliance’s situational reports on the work of the Humanitarian Committee, the situation with SMT, prevention, de-occupied regions, etc.

It should be noted that as of 01.10.2022, more than 19 thousand patients are on the state substitution maintenance therapy program in Ukraine, of which almost 1600 patients are IDPs. The largest number of IDPs as of 1.09.22 was in Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad regions. The percentage of patients receiving SMT for self-administration for 7-30 days increased to 91%, compared to 84.9% in early February.

Despite all the positive changes and development of the OST program during martial law due to the coordinated work of the Alliance, the Public Health Center, NGOs and patient organizations, unfortunately, the program is experiencing extremely negative consequences, so the % of retention in the OST program for at least 6 months from the start of treatment decreased from 83.1% (as of 23.02.2022) to 78.6% as of 01.10.2022. In July-September alone, about 676 patients in Kherson region stopped receiving OST without the possibility of continuing treatment, as the drug at most sites ran out and was seized by the occupying authorities, and it is almost impossible to leave Kherson region for safer regions. Also, since the beginning of the war, patients from the entire Luhansk region, Donetsk (Mariupol and Bakhmut) and Zaporizhzhia (Berdiansk and Melitopol) have partially left for safer regions to continue treatment, some of them have not managed to leave the temporarily occupied territories.

With the support of the Alliance for Public Health in Ukraine, NGOs provide comprehensive support to OST patients: psychosocial, humanitarian assistance, transportation services.

Link to the report: https://bit.ly/3UbKkt5

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October 31, 2022

New Challenges – New Solutions! Fight Against HIV Continues During the War.

Despite the war, there is still an HIV epidemic in Ukraine. According to the national statistics, about 260,000 people are living with HIV, while one third of them are not aware of their status.
For five years, Alliance for Public Health in partnership with 100% Life Network have been implementing the HealthLink Project “Accelerating Ukraine’s Efforts to End HIV” supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The main aim of this project is to end the HIV epidemic in Ukraine by offering an opportunity of free, rapid and safe HIV testing and treatment. This is the biggest HIV testing project in Ukraine, which is aimed at improving service delivery in health facilities, partner organizations and communities as well as targeted marketing of the key services provided within the project.
The fifth year of the project was the most challenging one, due to the war, occupation of territories, ruined health facilities and constant migration of population. However, the project was able to reach almost all the target indicators:
• 59,985 people tested for HIV (157% of the indicator for the year),
• 1,991 people with newly diagnosed HIV infection (89%),
• 1,944 people registered at health facilities (80%),
• 1,981 people started ART (98%).
The general HIV testing yield within the project is 3.3%.
Challenging times call for extraordinary solutions, that is why the main efforts were aimed at implementing new ideas to find new clients and motivate them to test for HIV, building sustainable adherence to treatment (ART), motivating partners of PLWH for index testing, preventing new infections by offering PrEP to members of high-risk populations, distributing oral HIV tests, etc. A number of innovative approaches have been implemented, including:
Launch of the Video Doctor app to improve the index testing indicators. Doctors received tablets, which they used during their consultations to show videos to their patients, share useful information about HIV, explain further steps in case of HIV detection and give advice on how to invite a partner for testing. The app was actively used by health and social workers of the project. The videos were shown to 884 clients. The activities were implemented in the following regions: Kyiv and Kyiv region, Poltava, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv and Donetsk regions.
Online services became very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and especially during the war. The services offered at the https://oraltest.org.ua website are in high demand among the LGBT clients. On the website, they can order a SafeBox or take a survey on risk behavior and learn about the risks of getting infected with HIV, syphilis and hepatitis. SafeBox is a prevention package, which includes an oral HIV test, condoms, lubricants, information materials and trendy souvenirs. SafeBoxes are especially popular in smaller towns and villages, where the LGBT community is hidden. They allow people to protect their confidentiality and get tested for HIV at home using the guide provided in the box. In total, 3,286 boxes were ordered at the website in one year.
Besides, a Telegram bot Assistant Dan has been launched in the fourth quarter to carry out a survey among the clients on their use of oral HIV tests and their satisfaction with the website services. The survey responses were analyzed and the results were part of the research “Oral HIV tests.” Besides, the bot helped to form a group for online testing of the LGBT community members. In total, 1,692 people took part in the online survey, which proves the efficiency of the online tools. In addition, the Telegram bot is used for online outreach or navigation, leading the clients to online consultations of friendly doctors, psychologists and lawyers.
Another gem of the project is the Seducer simulation game for MSM. As we all know, there are no drafts in life, so it is important to make right decisions from the first time. Unfortunately, we do not always have time or experience to understand, which decision is right and what consequences it can lead to. Participants of the simulation game are able to put themselves in the shoes of the game heroes, try different scenarios, and see the consequences of their choices. The game is a very effective education tool. NGOs offer to use this tool in their workshops for MSM.
Vending machines were widely used to distribute oral tests. They allow clients to access HIV tests and do self-testing in a comfortable place. Also, there are free condoms available in the vending machines. The mechanism is quite easy: you go to the website, answer the questions, generate a QR code, scan it and get what you need. In one year, 1,107 oral HIV tests were distributed through such vending machines.
For successful project implementation, it is important not only to encourage new clients to get tested, but also care about motivation, awareness and support of the project staff. That is why supervision has been launched as an important project component to provide ongoing help and support to the NGO staff members and health workers engaged in the project. The key topics discussed at the supervision sessions:
• peculiarities of HIV testing and counseling (in particular using a questionnaire to screen clients for risky behaviors and medical indications for testing);
• motivational counseling with skill building exercises (including index testing);
• prevention of professional burnout among the staff;
• maintaining emotional and psychological stability during hostilities, etc.
Both face-to-face and online sessions were organized. Due to the war, the number of face-to-face supervision sessions – both in NGOs and in health facilities – reduced greatly. However, despite all the challenges, supervisors were able to carry out 74 supervision sessions in NGOs and health facilities. The face-to-face supervision sessions were attended by 146 NGO representatives and 547 health workers, including nurses and doctors of different profiles, offering HIV and hepatitis testing and counseling. The number of online supervision sessions – both group and individual – was much bigger. In total, there were 1,434 online supervision sessions.
Providing support to the newly diagnosed patients was another focus of our work. When patients learn about their HIV-positive status, it is much easier for them to cope with the challenges and overcome the obstacles they face when they are supported by a mentor, who has a similar experience, which he is ready to share. One of the innovative approaches used in the project was peer mentoring. Mentors received special training on such topics as living with HIV, providing psychological support, coping with stress, offering motivational counseling to build adherence to ART, etc. After being trained, mentors were supporting their mentees living with HIV who had risks of dropping out of treatment and helped them build their lives with their new status. As for the mentors, it gave them a chance to do things which were socially important, build their capacity and self-esteem through training and cooperation with the project. This approach received a lot of positive feedback both from the mentors and from the mentees.
We would like to separately recognize the adaptability and creativity of our partner NGOs in finding new clients and interacting with them. Due to the war, many clients had to leave their homes and look for shelter in new places, where they sometimes did not have access to ART. That is why social workers organized the delivery of ARVs to their clients living with HIV, in particular internally displaced persons. In total, there were 233 ARV deliveries organized within the project.
Most NGOs started working with internally displaced persons and offering humanitarian support within other projects. Thus, they were able to reach a new target audience. Now, when people come to NGOs to get humanitarian aid, they also get information about HIV and are offered HIV testing. Such information is also distributed in the places where IDPs live.
The donor decided to extend the project for the sixth year, so we continue fighting HIV despite all the challenges we are facing today.

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October 29, 2022

Andriy Klepikov on changing basic needs of Ukrainians and contribution of communities to resilience at #POLITICOHealthCare Summit 2022

Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, and Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, joined the #POLITICOHealthCare Summit 2022, organized by POLITICO Europe, and spoke about the new threat to the country, how it is countering it and the TOP 3 urgent needs of Ukrainians.
Special attention was paid to the sustainability of the healthcare system and the biggest challenges for Ukraine caused by Russia’s large-scale military aggression.

Thus, Viktor Lyashko said that today in Ukraine more than 1000 medical institutions have been destroyed or damaged. This perfectly illustrates how negatively the war affects the civilian infrastructure.
It should be noted that today more than 7 million forced war refugees have left Ukraine and about 8 million people have moved inside the country. This happened only during the Second World War.
Andriy Klepikov said that the Alliance for Public Health and other NGOs are working side by side with the state and medical institutions. In some areas of the eastern part of the country, where hospitals are either destroyed or severely damaged, there are people who still need medical care. So civil society and communities are using mobile clinics to help.
“Previously, we used them only for HIV testing, but now mobile clinics have a wide range of services, including basic services such as blood pressure measurement and others. This is a good example of how civil society modifies services in response to existing needs. Today, health programs need more mobility and digitalization, which we are also working on. Because it is obvious that all people who have moved use online services, chatbots, telegram channels to get access to treatment.”
It should be noted that on March 1, the Alliance for Public Health, with the support of The Global Fund, launched an international support service for internally displaced persons and migrants #HelpNowHUB on the basis of SoS_project. The hub’s services provide online access to HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis treatment, access to substitution and hormone therapy around the world, as well as the opportunity to get an online consultation with a doctor and restore the “prescription / history of HIV treatment”, which was lost due to the war.
“Our system is quite stable, even in wartime. And Ukrainians are very inventive. For example, we found a way to deliver medicines during the fuel shortage. We promptly purchased bicycles and did it without interruption. And when there were no bicycles, social workers walked! This is an illustration of incredible resilience and dedication,” said Mr. Klepikov.
Answering the moderator’s question, Andriy Klepikov noted that today a new threat hangs over Ukraine. “Russia wants to kill civilians with cold this winter. This is a really well-thought-out strategy of a terrorist state and a crazy person who gives orders. Therefore, it is very important to resist it. We desperately need to add a humanitarian element to health programs.”
Recently, the experts of the Alliance for Public Health conducted a survey of urgent needs among representatives of key communities and according to its results, it is possible to identify the TOP-3 needs that are most relevant for Ukrainians today
access to food in Ukraine, a European country, is the main need(!!!????);
access to heat, clothing and to be warm in order not to freeze;
support for mental health.
You can watch the full speech of Andriy Klepikov in the attached video.
Other interviews and discussions of the summit: https://www.politico.eu/healthcare-summit/#Program 

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October 25, 2022

Overview of regional work in the new #SoS 2.0 digest

In 2022, a new three-year regional project, #SoS_project 2.0, was launched in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South-Eastern Europe.
This is the largest Global Fund project on a regional scale, involving 14 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Montenegro, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
In a prolonged military invasion situation, the Alliance managed to maintain the full-fledged project’s work and, more importantly, develop and launch new services for internally displaced persons and migrants. It is important to note that the manual developed in the previous project was used to implement this approach: “Guidelines for contingency planning in the provision of HIV-related services for key populations during COVID-19 and other emergencies”.

Content:
  • Cooperation and partnership
  • Progress on Goal 1: Institutionalize effective HIV response models and processes in the EECA region to influence the HIV care cascade in the region
  • Progress on Goal 2: Removal of barriers to services for key populations to promote quality health interventions based on human rights principles; overcoming gender barriers to services
  • Progress on Goal 3: Budget advocacy for sustainable services for key populations in the EECA region
  • Strategic initiative to digitalize the HIV response in EECA countries
  • Strategic Initiative for Emergency Response. A package of standardized services has been developed
  • Strategic priorities for 2023-2025

Read the Digest in a web browser

Thank you for your attention, and enjoy reading.

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October 14, 2022

Impact of COVID-19 and war on HIV care

On October 13-14 European wide discussion on HIV health services was held at the5th EACS Standard of Care Meeting for HIV and Co-infections in Europe.
Nadia Yangol, program manager of the Alliance for Public Health, took part in the section «Impact of COVID-19 and war on HIV care». She spoke about the experience of Ukraine and partners of the regional project #SoS 2.0.
💬“It is impossible to evaluate what Ukrainian doctors, social workers, volunteers do every day, because the whole of Ukraine stands behind every saved life. The results cannot be estimated in numbers, although we can talk about 12 thousand people in 40 countries who received support, advice and service through Emergency Response Support #HelpNowHUB, but all this would not have been possible without the help of our colleagues and all the people who support Ukraine both at the beginning of the war and today, especially thanks to the developed European standards for treatment HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and COVID.”
Session moderated by Teymur Noori (ECDC), Elena Vovc (WHO). We note that during the discussion, the speakers shared their experience and discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on testing services for HIV, hepatitis and as changes in related services through war and migration. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on testing services for HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections in the WHO Europe. Speakers were speaking about Impact of the war on HIV delivery services in Ukraine, HIV among migrants in precarious circumstances in the EU and European economic area and Continuity of care in Europe: what is changing through migration, and about challenges and solutions.
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