Following another massive russian drone attack on Kyiv, despite unstable internet connection and the reality of war, a Ukrainian voice was once again heard on the global stage.
During the Multi-Stakeholder Forum preparing for the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV, Tetiana Deshko, International Program Director at Alliance for Public Health, delivered a powerful intervention on how Ukrainian communities continue sustaining essential healthcare services during wartime.
Speaking from Kyiv, Tetiana highlighted how community organizations across Ukraine have become the backbone of healthcare delivery in frontline and crisis settings.
Mobile clinics, treatment continuity, integrated HIV, TB, mental health and harm reduction services, digital tools, and innovative prevention approaches are no longer simply innovations in wartime Ukraine — they are mechanisms of survival.
“When systems collapse, communities sustain care,” Tetiana emphasized during the discussion.
She also reminded participants that Eastern Europe and Central Asia remains the only region in the world where both HIV incidence and AIDS-related mortality continue to rise — making sustained investment in community-led and evidence-based responses critically important.
Today, Ukraine’s experience is not only a story of resilience. It is also an important lesson for the global HIV response in times of war, crisis, and instability.
Watch the full intervention here