15–18 October, Paris hosted the 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) — a key international event in HIV response that brought together scientists, clinicians, researchers, and community representatives to discuss innovative approaches in HIV prevention, treatment, and care, including digital technologies and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). 

Tetiana Deshko, Director of the Department of International Programs at Alliance for Public Health, participated in the conference, held meetings with partners from various countries in the region, and shared experiences in implementing innovative solutions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that increase the effectiveness of HIV testing and early treatment initiation.

Tetyana’s presentation took place within the parallel session “How can AI be used to advance in HIV prevention, treatment and care?”, which explored current AI applications in HIV prevention, case finding, treatment, and care, while also discussing scientific, medical, ethical, and privacy challenges.

“AI is a technology that, together with biomedical advances such as lenacapavir and the focused work of communities, can help achieve global HIV targets,” said Tetiana Deshko.

Key innovations presented:
✅ TWIIN – an innovative AI-powered virtual consultant, available 24/7 at twiin.aph.org.ua , on mobile phones or any device. The service covers HIV, tuberculosis, addictions, and mental health. All digital “humans” are real social workers and community representatives. Implemented within the iSoS regional partnership, supported financially by The Global Fund.

✅ Machine learning applications to optimize detection of new HIV cases, increasing testing efficiency in high-risk networks and supporting early treatment initiation using predictive algorithms.

✅ Help24 TeleHealth — a telemedicine platform developed under Ukraine’s National Telemedicine Strategy, providing access to HIV, STI, and mental health services for vulnerable populations (127,192 services provided to date, help24.org.ua/en).

✅ AI in Business Continuity Planning (BCP) for HIV organisations — automated risk forecasting, intelligent crisis response support, and democratised access to expert training for organizations of any size. Implemented by Social Equation Hub, within the iSoS regional partnership.

Tetiana demonstrated how integrating data from multiple sources and using predictive algorithms helps identify people in need faster and make life-saving decisions, even under war conditions.

We are pleased to announce that the Alliance for Public Health has ranked 7th among the TOP-100 public charitable organizations of Ukraine that contribute the most to supporting, rebuilding, and protecting the country across all areas of assistance in Ukraine today.

The ranking evaluates not only the amount of resources mobilized and organizational transparency, but also the real-life impact of these organizations in saving lives through socially important programs.
The “income” indicator includes donations, grants, humanitarian aid, and other resources that organizations independently mobilize for Ukraine and directly invest in health support, medical care provision, and protection of people in crisis situations.

“This position in the ranking is not just recognition — it is evidence that our innovative programs truly save lives. Mobile clinics, the digital social worker, telemedicine, and other projects help people receive timely medical care and support even in the most difficult conditions.
We are grateful to our partners, donors, and everyone who supports the Alliance’s work and ensures the continuity of services. Today’s challenges are great, but they only strengthen our commitment to our mission: ensuring health, safety, and hope for life,”
— noted Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health.

Background information

The International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health” is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In cooperation with governmental partners and community organizations, the Alliance has a significant impact on the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and other socially significant diseases in Ukraine. Alliance for Public Health provides targeted humanitarian support to the most vulnerable groups of the population and implements veteran rehabilitation programs.

Since February 2022, more than 1.6 million Ukrainians have received support from APH. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is not only a fight for sovereignty but also for people’s health and well-being.

The Alliance for Public Health operates Mobile Treatment Points (mobile medical units), providing essential medical services to populations in frontline and hard-to-reach areas. They have implemented integrated primary health services, screening, diagnosis, and treatment for HIV and TB, reaching 26,500 people in 494 remote locations across six regions near the front line — people who otherwise would not have access to medical care.

The Alliance’s Results Since the Start of the Full-Scale Invasion Include:

• Access to PrEP for 14000 people at risk of HIV (66% of all who started PrEP during the war);
• Medical and psychological support for 17117 people with TB;
• Diagnosis of over 4000 TB cases among vulnerable and key populations;
• Services for 5270 people with HIV/TB co-infection from key groups (98% treatment success rate);
• Increased TB detection — 2.5 times more cases identified among internally displaced persons;
• Development of a specialized training course for doctors on working with war veterans (to date, nearly 30000 doctors have completed the course through the National Health Service of Ukraine Academy platform .

Other areas of support include psychological assistance, winterization support, provision of essential supplies, procurement of food, clothing, and medicines, as well as training in employment skills and financial literacy, HIV related services and support, telemedicine.

In responding to the challenges of war, Alliance for Public Health is also helping to rebuild Ukraine for the future.

More details about the ranking and the updated list of organizations

Ukrainian digital assistant TWIIN presented at the IAS 2025 international conference held from 13 to 17 July in Kigali, Rwanda

TWIIN was featured in the poster exhibition area, where conference participants from around the world had the opportunity to interact with online consultants and learn more about the project from Maria Malakhova, the project coordinator and Programme Manager for Innovation and Digital Projects at the Alliance for Public Health.

As part of the session Harnessing technology: Digital health applications at the IAS Conference on HIV Science, Maria Malakhova presented TWIIN — a digital health assistant developed by the Alliance for Public Health to support key populations.

TWIIN is an innovative AI-powered voice and chat assistant, operating 24/7. It provides support on HIV, STIs, mental health, safer use, human rights, and navigation through available health services. What makes TWIIN unique is its multichannel availability — through websites, mobile apps, API integration, and interactive panels — and its ability to work in both open chat mode and structured dialogue formats.

In her presentation, Maria Malakhova highlighted:

– Evidence on the effectiveness of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) in driving behavior change;

– First implementation results in Ukraine, with over 7,000 users engaged;

– High levels of community acceptance, especially in contexts of stigma, migration, and limited access to healthcare;

– Strategic plans to scale TWIIN across EECA countries, with tailored adaptation to local language and service realities.

The IAS Conference on HIV Science is the world’s largest scientific platform that brings together science, policy, and practice to advance the global HIV response.

The TWIIN presentation demonstrated how technology developed in Ukraine can be scaled as part of an international response to health challenges.

Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, spoke at IAS 2025 during a special session addressing challenges faced by health systems and key populations during armed conflicts.

In his presentation, he emphasised that Ukraine demonstrates resilience and an effective HIV response, maintaining control over the epidemic and ensuring access to prevention and treatment, especially for internally displaced people and war refugees.

Key success factors in Ukraine’s HIV response during the war:

• Strong collaboration between communities, civil society, medical professionals, international agencies, donors, and the government
• Favourable policies supporting key populations and migrants
• Flexibility and rapid adaptation of services – mobile outreach and digital tools
• Addressing basic humanitarian needs
• Access to innovations, including long-acting antiretrovirals

Main takeaway:

Despite the challenges of war, Ukraine demonstrates a resilient and effective HIV response, keeping the epidemic under control and setting an example for other countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Future priorities:

• Ongoing research and assessments to meet emerging needs, including mental health
• Advocating against shrinking international funding
• Ensuring access to LENACAPAVIR — a life-saving innovation essential during wartime and for Ukraine’s rebuilding

UNAIDS report shows: despite crisis, the region has tools for a breakthrough — if we act together

On July 15, 2025, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released its global report “AIDS, Crisis, and the Power of Transformation,” highlighting troubling trends in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) — the only region in the world where both new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have increased since 2010

Live broadcast recording

Key facts from the EECA region:

• New HIV infections have increased by 7% since 2010
• AIDS-related deaths have risen by 48%
• Total number of people living with HIV: 2.1 million

UNAIDS experts emphasize that the region is facing serious structural barriers: stigma against key populations, political restrictions on NGOs, and a reduction in external funding are undermining HIV prevention and treatment efforts

Prevention in crisis — but civil society refuses to give up

HIV prevention in EECA is undergoing a deep crisis. Coverage among key populations remains critically low, and new infections continue to rise

Even basic prevention services, such as oral PrEP, are still not fully reaching those in need — revealing the magnitude of the gap between access and global targets

In 34 countries of Europe and Central Asia that submitted data, only 284,846 people received PrEP at least once in the past 12 months. This remains far below the regional target of reaching 500,000 people per year by 2025

“It’s an effective and convenient prevention tool that doesn’t require daily adherence. Yet, unfortunately, not a single EECA country has been included in the Global Fund’s global lenacapavir rollout initiative. I call on the Global Fund to include our region — we must not be left out of global progress.

I also want to emphasize the importance of expanding access to more convenient forms of opioid agonist therapy, (OAT), such as extended-release depot buprenorphine — a monthly injection. These approaches are vital in EECA, where access to take-home OAT is very limited.

Initiatives like the regional iSoS project demonstrate that innovation, partnership, and community involvement are key to building a sustainable and effective response,” said Tetiana Deshko, Director: International Programs, Alliance for Public Health.

Commenting on the discussion, UNAIDS Regional Director Eamonn Murphy stressed that despite the current crisis, the region stands at a turning point — and what matters now is action:

“The HIV response in EECA is at a crossroads. Yes, we face serious challenges: declining funding, restructuring of offices, and changing donor priorities. But we have opportunities — and we must focus on them.”

He added that UNAIDS continues its efforts to maintain presence in the region and ensure that Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain a clearly visible focus. He also noted that only through joint efforts — including the strong involvement of civil society — can the HIV response remain resilient. This is not UNAIDS’ responsibility alone. Everyone must act together: civil society, regional networks — all play a key role

Community voices are loud — despite growing challenges

At the report launch, Aleksey Lakhov, Executive Director of EuroNPUD, reminded participants of a key document: “Breaking the Chains: Supporting Community Leadership and Human Rights for a Sustainable HIV Response,” prepared by the NGO delegation to the UNAIDS PCB in 2024. According to him:

“The manifesto makes it clear: without community involvement, there is no sustainable progress. Despite funding cuts, armed conflicts, and mounting pressure on civil society, communities are not giving up

Civil society organizations continue providing thousands of consultations. In Kazakhstan and Ukraine, online outreach is expanding. In Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine, through a UNITAID-supported initiative, communities are co-developing services — from low dead space syringes to extended-release buprenorphine

Educational platforms like the HIV Justice Academy and ARV procurement monitoring efforts show strong community leadership. But these initiatives need three things: freedom from repression, sustainable funding, and equal participation in decision-making.”

Funding: available, but uneven and unstable

Despite substantial investments in antiretroviral therapy (ART), current regional funding will only allow for 60% of diagnosed people living with HIV to access treatment by 2030. Even with improved efficiency, coverage will not exceed 80%

ART costs vary dramatically — from $120 per patient annually in Armenia to $6,778 in Serbia. While most countries now fund treatment from domestic budgets, prevention, services for key populations, and rights-based approaches remain almost entirely dependent on international donors

UNAIDS calls for:

• expanding domestic HIV financing,
• developing sustainable national plans,
• ensuring the participation and protection of communities

Digital technologies as a driver of resilience

Amid rapid reductions in international funding, EECA countries are being forced to explore new approaches to sustaining HIV programs. The iSoS project demonstrates how innovation can provide a practical path forward — moving from traditional donor dependence to more resilient and transparent models

“With international funding shrinking, this project’s interventions provide a timely and practical response, supporting countries in the EECA region to transition toward stronger, more sustainable HIV programs by effectively bridging Web3 and Web2 technologies

Utilizing Web3 and AI tools, the initiative facilitates a shift away from traditional donor dependence toward innovative, transparent, and community-led financing models, integrated seamlessly with existing Web2 infrastructure and practices,” emphasized Keti Kobeshavilli, Project Lead at SEH

According to her, by the project’s end, several important outcomes are expected:

• successful integration and piloting of AI-powered tools to ensure continuity of services and uninterrupted access to essential HIV care — especially during crises;
• enhanced digital literacy and resilience of civil society, enabling them to use Web3 technologies to more effectively mobilize resources;
• the emergence of new, fairer, more accountable, and crisis-resilient health systems that better respond to community needs

“This intentional integration between public health systems rooted in Web2 and emerging Web3 solutions presents significant opportunities to build fairer, more accountable, and crisis-resilient health systems, ensuring sustainable impacts and ongoing responsiveness to community needs,” she added

On June 25, 2025, Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health, delivered a powerful address at the European Parliament’s Committee on Public Health (SANT Committee).

He presented the analytical report “The EU’s Role in Overcoming the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Ukraine”  and outlined key policy recommendations. This brief highlights how the EU can support the fight against these diseases and integrate this effort into Ukraine’s EU accession process.

The report was prepared in the context of the full-scale war in Ukraine, where the national healthcare system, despite immense challenges, continues to maintain control over the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics. His speech emphasized the crucial role of funding from the European Union, particularly through the Global Fund, which serves as the primary mechanism supporting the HIV/TB response in Ukraine.

In his speech, he also shared experience on:

• How Ukraine continues to control HIV and tuberculosis despite the full-scale war.
• Innovative approaches like mobile clinics, the AI-based digital consultant TWIIN, and Help24 Telehealth— an innovative telemedicine platform developed under Ukraine’s National Telemedicine Strategy to expand access to HIV, STI, and mental health care for war-affected and vulnerable populations.
• The essential work with vulnerable groups, including key populations in the HIV context, internally displaced people, and others.

Andriy Klepikov called on the European Commission and all EU institutions to continue and strengthen their support — including a pledge of €800 million to the Global Fund’s 8th replenishment — to ensure life-saving health services continue in Ukraine and set new standards for global public health.

The Alliance for Public Health extends its sincere gratitude to the members of the European Parliament’s SANT Committee: Vytenis Andriukaitis, Adam Jarubas, Tilly Metz, Romana Jerković, and Stine Bosse — for their support, attention to Ukraine, and active involvement.

We also thank all partners who contributed to the report’s preparation: Aidsfonds, Friends of the Global Fund Europe, the Public Health Center of Ukraine, and other civil society organizations from Ukraine and Europe.

Find all information on the European Parliament’s website: https://lnkd.in/eqt7P74e

The Alliance continues to actively assist Ukrainians by responding to their needs with a wide range of humanitarian initiatives. For the fourth consecutive year, with significant financial and technical support from Christian Aid and the Church of Sweden, 620 mini-projects have been implemented to address the urgent needs of local communities and individual households.

Thanks to participation in the mini-grant contest, community initiative groups receive funding to implement mini-projects that are relevant to both IDPs and “host” communities in specific regions. The grant money is used to repair buildings, equip bomb shelters and children’s playgrounds, set up spaces for hobby clubs, purchase necessary equipment, etc. Various educational, corrective, and rehabilitation activities are also carried out.

Victoria Martirosova, Program Manager at the Alliance for Public Health, has told us about the implementation of the new phase of the project “Supporting Community Initiatives in Ukraine” and new approaches to working with regional facilitators.

This phase of the project will last from February to September 2025 and, unlike previous phases, will focus on deepening activities in the specially selected remote territorial communities. Once the situation in the frontline territories has been analyzed, it was decided to concentrate activities in the territorial communities of six regions: Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions, and the city of Kramatorsk. We wanted as many people as possible to be able to participate in the grant contest. To this end, announcements about the open contest were widely distributed among the communities and local authorities. The Alliance’s regional facilitators also worked very actively with the communities and initiative groups, telling them about the contest, mini-grants, etc. We managed to attract many interested participants—76 applications were received, from which 55 winners were selected.

The cost of implementing one mini-project is, on average, UAH 200,000, summing up to a total grant amount of UAH 10 million. The applications submitted by initiative groups to the contest were focused on the highest priority needs in their communities. In order to ensure that the selection was objective, it was conducted in two stages.

The first selection stage took place in the specific communities, where selection commissions were set up. These commissions reviewed applications from their region and selected winners based on a certain number of points. After review by the regional commissions, the winners were determined by the Alliance’s National Commission, which also reviewed all 76 applications, but with notes about which initiatives won in each region.

When selecting the winners, the competition committee members paid attention to the following factors:

– that it was a large territorial community where IDPs live,

– local authorities were willing to implement initiatives,

– there were active people and volunteers interested in improving the life of the community, since it was the first time in the history of mini-grants, when the Alliance used a new approach – to implement several initiatives in one community at the same time.

“A distinctive feature of this phase of the project is that several different mini-projects can be implemented simultaneously in the local community by different initiative groups. This is the

Alliance’s first experience of this kind, and it will be very interesting to see how this approach works and how effective it will be,” said Viktoria Martirosova.

Facilitators as a driving force of the Project

In order to delve deeper into the communities, especially rural ones, there is a need to involve a regional “coordinator” who is a local resident and who would be present “in the field” when needed.

A facilitator is a person who communicates directly with initiative groups and assists them at all stages of project implementation: writing grant applications, implementing the project, preparing reporting documentation, etc. Facilitators are the driving force and assistants to initiative groups, as well as a kind of intermediaries between the Alliance and communities. From the very start of the project, they worked in communities: they got to know the leadership, residents, initiative groups, helped to set up the regional contest commissions, served as secretaries of these commissions, and assisted the Alliance with all paperwork. The involvement of facilitators at all stages is very helpful to the communities themselves, as it helps to educate and support them throughout the entire process.

“Since the beginning of the war, I have been working at the humanitarian projects, and now I am working on the implementation of mini-grants. What inspires me in this work? Of course, it’s the people around me, people who need help. When you realize that you can help and already have some experience in this, you want to share it and inspire others,” says Kateryna Horbyk, a facilitator in the Poltava region. “I understand that it is thanks to projects supported by mini-grants that small communities that have lost hope and are not expecting any help are being rebuilt. It’s great that we have the opportunity to help in this way!”.

Kateryna Horbyk, a facilitator in the Poltava region, shared the specifics of her work and the challenges of collaborating with remote communities.

When I found out that there were already communities to work with, I immediately started communicating with the heads of local territorial communities, because they knew the needs of their residents better than anyone else. We arranged meetings to get to know each other in the first place and to understand their needs and problems. Then we had several working meetings aimed at training people who were eager to join us to prepare their grant applications. This was the stage at which initiative groups were formed in the community. After the winners were announced, we, the facilitators, were constantly in touch with them, as we provided consulting services on the work processes, such as procurement, implementation of activities, publications on mini-projects, etc. It’s great that people in small communities are ready to hear you, and listen to you when you give them some advice.

We are currently conducting “experimental training sessions” in the territorial communities of the mini-grant project. This is an analysis of the implementation of mini-grant projects in practice, during which we discuss what has already been done, what problems arise, what can be improved, and their future plans. Therefore, we travel to communities, organize meetings, and hold lively and interesting discussions. It is difficult to plan routes for visiting communities because we work in remote territorial communities that are 2-3 hours’ drive away. All these communities are located outside the Poltava community, in towns and villages that are really remote logistically and have almost no access to donor funding. But we do it because such visits, meetings, and discussions are a guarantee that initiative groups, gaining knowledge, skills, and positive experience in implementing mini-projects, will move forward and implement larger projects later on.

What challenges do I see:

– there is a need to learn how to work with people in the communities, who usually do not even know how to organize any working processes;

– a facilitator bears a great responsibility, because the project implementation depends on our efforts.

The Alliance helps facilitators on this difficult path through holding regular working meetings, thematic training sessions, consultations, and experience exchanges within the framework of the Community Initiatives Support Platform.

Read about the interim results of project implementation on our Facebook page. The activities are carried out within the framework of the project “Supporting Community Initiatives in Ukraine,” implemented by the Alliance for Public Health of Ukraine with financial and technical support from the Church of Sweden and Christian Aid.

Alliance for Public Health, along with 250 other community and civil society organizations from around the world, sent an important letter to the European Commission. We are calling on Commissioner Jozef Síkela and EU leadership to renew and increase their commitment to the fight against HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by pledging €800 million to The Global Fund.

The European Commission has always been a vital partner in this fight. Their role has been crucial—from co-founding the Global Fund to stepping up with a €715 million pledge during the COVID-19 crisis, which helped save countless lives. This contribution is a testament to true leadership.

The fight continues, and we are grateful for every step taken in this direction. Even in the face of potential aid cuts that could threaten hard-won gains, we understand how important decisive leadership is right now.

Today, we urge Jozef Síkela, Ursula von der Leyen, Hadja Lahbib, and Marta Kos to continue standing with us in this incredibly important mission.

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