8 million children (18% of the total population) live in Ukraine according to the State Statistics Committee. Ukraine is one of the lowest in the world (186) in terms of fertility and one of the highest in mortality. At the same time, Ukraine remains a country with a high HIV prevalence. In 2017 among 18 thousand new cases of HIV infection, 2,6 thousand (14%) were children. In just four months of 2018, almost 5.8 thousand new cases of HIV were registered in Ukraine, of which 794  (or 14%) are children (according to the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine). In response to a looming epidemiological situation, the Alliance for Public Health traditionally supports comprehensive preventive and educational work with children.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Alliance have agreed an action plan to ensure the health of children and adolescents in 2018. According to the plan, the Ministry allocates 250 thousand UAH to support information and education preventive activities with the Alliance technical support.

In cooperation with our partner NGO’s, CBO’s and state organizations, we strengthen community capacity in  saving the health and ensure the well-being of Ukrainian children.

Over the past three years, more than 10,000 children in 6 regions of Ukraine have been covered with prevention services.

This year, the Alliance and partner NGOs as ever held numerous events for chilbren affiliated to the International Children’s Day.

The Alliance’s priorities in preventing the spread of HIV among children and young people are the creation and maintenance of low-threshold services that meet the needs and demand of children. Necessary component of such programs is the involvement of adolescents in the planning and implementation of all activities based in Day Centers established by the Alliance.

The active position of adolescents and the friendly attitude of competent professionals contribute to the development of safer behavior skills, skills of HIV/HCV/Tb prevention, counteracting violence, increasing tolerance and leadership qualities, forming a commitment of parents, health workers and adolescents to timely and full vaccination.

All this gives us hope for the prosperous and healthy future of Ukrainian children!