In 2025, a new three-year regional project “#iSoS: Empowering and Innovations” was launched with a budget of $5.5 million. The project aims to strengthen healthcare systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) to combat HIV and related challenges.
The project is a collaborative consortium of partner organizations led by the Alliance for Public Health, with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The consortium includes organizations such as CO “100% Life”, the Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV (CAAPL), SEE RCN, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, EHRA, ECOM, SEH, ENPUD, the Regional Expert Group on Migrant Health, and ECECACD. These partners combine their regional networks and expertise to effectively address the HIV/AIDS-related challenges in the region.
The EECA region remains off track in its response to the HIV epidemic and is one of only three regions globally where the annual number of new HIV infections continues to rise. This trend is primarily driven by insufficient coverage of prevention programs among key populations, including people who inject drugs and MSM. Critical gaps include limited access to opioid agonist therapy (OAT), which remains either unavailable, underfunded, or of poor quality, and minimal uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Additionally, low HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage further compound the crisis, with only 59% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) aware of their status and just 50% receiving ART. Punitive legal frameworks also pose significant barriers: seven countries in the region criminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, while aggressive policing, stigma, and discrimination against key populations are pervasive. Moreover, the lack of domestic investment in the HIV response has left a 54% funding gap to meet the 2025 target. Multiple overlapping crises continue to challenge the region’s fragile AIDS response. These critical gaps were prioritised when designing the interventions outlined in the program.
The #iSoS project focuses on creating resilient and effective healthcare systems for addressing HIV in four countries: Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan, as well as SEE subregion. The project’s objectives are to enhance HIV prevention coverage among key populations, eliminate human rights barriers to HIV services, and strengthen healthcare systems to ensure sustainable epidemic control.
KEY PROJECT GOALS:
- Increase Access to HIV Prevention Services Among Key Populations:
The project aims to diversify and expand PrEP delivery by strengthening community-based, pharmacy-based, and online service models. Community-led monitoring (CLM) will help improve service quality, and the introduction of innovative approaches, such as long-acting injectable PrEP (LA PrEP), is expected to boost PrEP coverage by 20% during the project period. - Remove Human Rights-Related Barriers to HIV Services:
The project will enhance access to harm reduction services, particularly opioid agonist therapy (OAT), through advocacy, legal reforms, and high-level political engagement. This includes submitting shadow reports to EU and UN bodies and working with the EECA Drug Policy Commission to advance drug policy reforms. Key efforts also focus on monitoring human rights violations affecting LGBT people and people who inject drugs, strategic litigation, and improving the legal environment for key populations. Additional activities include developing remote service registration for migrants, integrating gender-sensitive approaches, and providing legal support and crisis impact assessments to guide risk reduction during emergencies. - Strengthen Healthcare Systems and Attract Sustainable Investments:
The project advocates for increased national funding for HIV programs, particularly in the SEE region, emphasizing the cost-effectiveness of early intervention. NGOs will receive technical support to develop sustainable funding strategies, while Moldova and Tajikistan will work on integrating HIV and TB services into health insurance plans. A health systems resilience framework, including cybersecurity, will be implemented in Moldova, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia.
To enhance efficiency, the project will introduce seven digital solutions to improve data collection, decision-making, and access to services, ensuring better health outcomes across the region.
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Stela Bivol,
WHO Regional Office for Europe: “In these times of permacrisis and never ending challenges in the WHO European region, the continued Global Fund’s support to EECA regional priorities is a lifeline. This important support will catalyse uptake of WHO recommended HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and testing approaches and make available critical strategic information. This will ensure that key populations programs are front and center in regional ending AIDS efforts.”
Daniel Kashnitsky,
Regional Expert Group for Migration and Health for Eurasia: “By integrating migrant-sensitive care into the broader paradigm of person-centered care, we can better address their specific challenges and ensure equitable access to quality health services based on trust. Today no European country is doing a good work to integrate migrants into the healthcare system and we all need to improve. Within the #iSoS project we will strive to develop new transnational solutions for international migrants in Georgia, Moldova and Kazakhstan to make HIV services accessible for people living with HIV among migrants. Migrants’ lives matter.”
Dmytro Sherembey,
Head of the Coordination Council of 100% Life: “For us, it is crucial that the fight against HIV is as effective as possible, which is why we actively implement modern digital solutions. The experience of ‘100% Life’ proves that if you continuously evolve, you can always respond to new challenges. At the new stage of the Regional Grant, we will share our experience with partners in implementing digital tools for testing, monitoring, and data management, as well as effective management of nonprofit organizations. I am convinced that Ukrainian experience will help our colleagues successfully combat the epidemic in the region!”
Aleksander Kwasniewski,
Former President of Poland, Chair of the ECECACD: “In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, where geopolitical challenges abound, we will persist in our efforts to counter russian narratives and approaches to drug policy. It is imperativethat we champion necessary reforms for a better future.”
The iSoS project is a bold step towards building a resilient and innovative healthcare system in the EECA region, focusing on digitalization, healthcare accessibility, and human rights. The project’s unique approach to cross-country collaboration is poised to make a meaningful impact on the fight against HIV while ensuring sustainable outcomes for the region’s most vulnerable populations.
Official web-page: https://isos.aph.org.ua
CONTACT: Project Director: Sergii Filippovych, filippovych@aph.org.ua
