The webinar program:

16.00 – 16.20 Welcome and opening words:

                              – Vitaly Djuma, ECOM,

                              – Larysa Getman, The Public Health Centre,

                              – Olga Denisyuk, Alliance for Public Health,

                              – Ioannis Mameletzis, WHO Ukraine.

                               Moderator: Nikolay Lunchenkov ECOM

16.20 – 16.30 Presentation of the study’s results: “COVID-19, sexual behaviour and intimate partner violence among PrEP users in Ukraine”

                              – Nikolay Lunchenkov MD – LGBT Health coordinator, The Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity

16.30 – 16.40 The impact of COVID-19 on intimate partner violence

                              – ПProf. Dr. Janina Isabel Steinert – Assistant Professor at the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich

16.40 – 16.55 The impact of the war on access to PrEP among key populations in Ukraine

                 – Larysa Getman – Head of the HIV Management and Response Department of the Public Health Centre, Ministry of Health of Ukraine

16.55 – 17.10  Access to PrEP among MSM in Ukraine during the War: New Challenges for NGOs

                              – Andrii Chernyshev, Alliance Global

17.05 – 17.25  Q&A Session  

17.25 – 17.30 Closing remarks

                              – Nikolay Lunchenkov, ECOM

We are pleased to invite you to the webinar ” The second regional program on COVID-19 of the SoS 2.0 project under the COVID-19 response mechanism (C19RM): results of work, achievements, best practices”

Date: July 12, 2022

Time: 11 am – 1 pm Kyiv time (GMT+3)

 Join: https://bit.ly/3av14dz 

The purpose of the online webinar is to present the results of the work of the second regional program on COVID-19 of the SoS 2.0 project within the framework of the COVID-19 response mechanism (C19RM), which was implemented by project partners in the countries of the EECA region.

Languages: Russian and English (with simultaneous translation)

Presenters

11:00 – 11:10 Welcome and introductions

– Moderator, Nadia Yanhol, Alliance for Public Health, #SoS 2.0

11:10 – 12:55 Presentations and discussions: results of work, achievements, best practices

• Maka Goria,  Georgia
• Nurali Amanzholov, Pavel Savin, Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV (CAA PLHIV)
• Damir Lalicic, Partnership in Health, Bosnia & Hercegovina
• Olga Belyaeva, Eurasian Network of People Who Use Drugs (ENPUD)
• Maria Plotko, EHRA
• Daniel Kashnitsky, Regional Expert Group on Migration and Health
• Ruslan Poverga, Pozitiva Initiativa, Moldova
• Elena German, ECOM
• Vitaliy Apanasenko,Ukraine
• Sanja Šišovic,  CAZAS, Montenegro
• Viktoria Kalynuik, Alliance for Public Health, #SoS 2.0
• Maria Malakhova, Alliance for Public Health, #SoS 2.0

12:55 – 13:00 Closing remarks

From the first days of the war, the Alliance for Public Health has repurposed its mobile ambulatories to meet humanitarian

needs. Now, these vehicles work around the clock evacuating women and children, delivering food, medicines, power generators, medical devices, equipment and other essential goods!

111 DAYS OF HUMANITARIAN CONVOYS ARE:

• More than 500 t of cargo delivered.
• More than 520 thousand kilometres.
• The longest ‘special’ voyage — 2740 km (delivering OST drugs in March 2022)
• 850 days on the road (total days the drivers spent on the road).
• Our daily record is 14 crews en route at the same time!
• Over 80 healthcare facilities have received essential medications and medical goods.
• Transporting OST drugs to 19 healthcare facilities in six oblasts: in particular, 1.2 million pills procured by the MoH of Ukraine and the APH.
• 40 drivers and navigators. The youngest driver is 20, the oldest one is 57.
• The cargoes include medicines, medical equipment (including sophisticated), food, infant formula, hygienic goods, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, drones, Starlink units, armour vests, among many other things.

June 20, 2022 situation report: Humanitarian Convoys of the APH: 111 DAYS ON THE ROAD, 111 DAYS OF AID.

The most demanded in Ukraine and abroad innovative hub #HelpNow https://helpnow.aph.org.ua was discussed on May 31, 2022, during the discussion and presentation “#HelpNow – help that can not wait.”

Almost 400 participants from 10 EECA countries attended the event. They all are concerned about the situation that arose due to the full-scale war in Ukraine. They discussed innovative approaches and responses to new challenges in Ukraine and abroad, i.e., access to treatment, telemedicine, shelters, a hotline for providing information on medicines in any country in the world, as well as humanitarian and social support for key groups affected by the war.

Andreas Tamberg, portfolio manager at the Global Fund, highlighted his commitment to the #HelpNow HUB team, #SoS_project 2.0, and the Alliance for Public Health.

“We are confident that you will achieve significant success not only through our programs but also by helping those you encounter day-to-day.”

“The #SoS 2.0 project is a unique tool of the Global Fund, as it covers a wide range of countries and regions,”  Mr. Tamberg said. “It is driven by civil society forces that can apply the maximum flexibility and ability to find those who need services. We greatly appreciate your ability to improve health and save lives where they need to be. As part of the ongoing fighting and mass migration of Ukrainian patients because of the war, it is very encouraging that the Alliance remains in its place, and you are working with refugees, with victims not only in Ukraine but also in various countries of the region.”

Subtitle More than 20 NGOs were involved in creating the HelpNow database system

Serhii Filipovych, director of #SoS 2.0 in the Public Health Alliance, introduced the work of the new HelpNow service and pointed out that in the crisis of russian military aggression in Ukraine, the role of broad interaction and support of friendly countries is significant.

“Since the beginning of the war, the #SoS 2.0 project has immediately become involved in the situation. The geography of our activities has expanded from the 15 countries involved in the project to more than 35 countries worldwide. Foremost, the neighboring countries, starting from the first week of the war, provided great humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians, mainly women with children, from the stage of crossing the border outside Ukraine and continued to create conditions for social and medical assistance and support. I’d also like to note the unique nature of the interaction between organizations, health care institutions, and partner non-governmental organizations. More than 20 NGOs and state institutions were involved in creating an information database and a system of assistance to Ukrainians in different countries,” Sergii Filippovych said in his speech.

With the support of the Global Fund, funds were allocated to create a special program to support Ukrainian patients in distress due to the war. In response to the war challenge, practically on a volunteer basis, the Alliance developed and launched an emergency coordination and information service on treatment in Ukraine and abroad – HelpNow within the framework of the regional project #SoS 2.0. This service provides information that helps Ukrainians access ART, PTAO, TB drugs, viral hepatitis drugs, and psychological assistance in Ukraine and abroad.

Another important achievement of the Alliance was the creation, back in peacetime, of the “Guide for contingency planning in the field of HIV”, which was shared in the public domain for wide use. “Ukraine was not preparing for the war, but we understood that the system of providing assistance to key populations can be very vulnerable in emergencies. Thus, we can already say that we were technically ready and immediately connected to solving problems”, – the project director #SoS 2.0 emphasized.

During the event, participants shared their experiences and developments and discussed critical areas of work and further steps that will help to respond quickly to the challenges during the war, i.e.:

• access for internally displaced Ukrainians and refugees to online telemedicine counseling in Ukraine and other countries;
• the issue of shelters in Ukraine and host countries for Ukrainians forcibly displaced as a result of the war;
• challenges and gaps in access to health and other essential services for key populations affected by HIV.

Roman Halevych, UNAIDS Director in Ukraine, highlighted another important step in his speech. There is a need to review and expand HIV services so that people from key communities who had to leave their homes and cities due to russian aggression can receive HIV services in their host places.

In her turn, Vlasta Brodska, Head of the Emergency Response/#SoS 2.0 program, underlined that supporting NGOs in countries with a large concentration of people from Ukraine is essential. These countries are well known, thanks to the data of a coordination service operating in the hub.

Also, as part of the discussion, approaches to providing services in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees were discussed and presented in the example of Moldova, Poland, and Germany. During a separate session, there were presented new forms of communication and exchange of medical information between doctors respecting the patient’s rights. We talked about online counseling of patients on the principle of telemedicine, supporting and strengthening the capacity of clinicians who are involved in the system of medical care for HIV patients in Ukraine in the context of war within the clinical component of HelpNow. There was also raised the issue concerning the operation of shelters created in Ukraine and host countries for forcibly displaced Ukrainians due to the war.

 On June 2, 2022 at 11:00 am (UTC+3), #SoS_project 2.0 regional team the Alliance for Public Health and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) will present a new version of a unique online training course on drug decriminalization for activists in the EECA region.

Zoom registration: https://bit.ly/3sTpjYW

#SoS_project 2.0 regional team has initiated the translation and adaptation of the unique [e]Course into russian to enhance advocacy and support cutting edge knowledge on humane and effective drug policy partners in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Note that [e]Course was developed and launched in English and French in 2021 by IDPC in partnership with Mainline, Health[e]Foundation and Frontline AIDS.

IDPC’s Drug decriminalisation [e]Course is a free-to-access online learning course that is open to anyone interested in this important topic. With the launch of the Russian version of the course, activists from the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia will have access to cutting-edge knowledge in the field of modern approaches.

Presentation speakers:

• Alexandrina Iovita, The Global Fund,
• Tetiana Deshko, Alliance for Public Health,
• Marie Nougier, IDPC (United Kingdom)
• Ganna Dovbach, EHRA
• Irena Molnar, ReGeneration, Serbia

The [e]Course includes seven modules:

1. Introduction, definitions and support for decriminalisation
2. Existing models of decriminalisation
3. Making the case for decriminalisation
4. Designing a decriminalisation model
5. Thresholds and defining drug possession for personal use
6. Designing decriminalisation: sanctions and intrusiveness
7. The ‘gold standard’ for decriminalisation

The presentation will also be streamed live on the Alliance for Public Health, IDPC and #SoS_project 2.0 Facebook pages.

Contact: gavrylova@aph.org.ua, Inna Gavrylova, PR & Communications Manager, Alliance for Public Health

On May 31, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Kyiv time (GTM+3) there will be a webinar “HelpNow – Support that Can’t Wait! Emergency response to new challenges in Ukraine and other countries: access to treatment, telemedicine, shelters, humanitarian and social support for key populations affected by the war.”

Pre-registration: https://bit.ly/39OOwNz

Language of the event: Ukrainian, English.

Objectives: 

• Present the online HIV Support Navigation Hub – HelpNow HUB, as well as the activities and services for Key Populations in regards to access to treatment, medical, psycho-social and direct humanitarian support;  
• Compare and discuss the approaches and support activities in host countries where Ukrainian refugees flee – Moldova, Poland,  Germany;  
• Telemedicine in Ukraine and in EU countries for Ukrainian Refugees: Medical support and consultations to key populations. 
• Compare and discuss the shelters for refugees and internally displaced people in Ukraine and EU: Comprehensive support to those who were forced to relocate  
• Discuss the challenges and gaps for key populations affected by HIV while accessing healthcare services in Ukraine and EU countries, next steps.

Background Information: 

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine. In the first weeks, more than five million refugees from Ukraine crossed borders into neighboring countries, and many more have been forced to move inside the country. Refugees and internally displaced people, including those  from HIV key affected populations are especially vulnerable due to the threat of losing access to services and treatment.

According to the United Nations (UN), as of May 16, more than 14 million people are believed to have fled their homes in Ukraine since the war began, including internally displaced people and refugees. More than six million have left for neighboring countries, and eight million people are thought to be displaced inside the war-torn country itself.   

Non-government organizations from Ukraine, as well as regional and international organizations, national community based organizations from host countries, together with Ukrainian public institutions, have organized emergency services to help Ukrainians access treatments in Ukraine and around the world.    

During these 3 months of war a lot has been done to support Ukrainian refugees from among key populations. Different countries and communities have been practicing different approaches with the same goal: provide crucial support and help to those in need, to Ukrainian refugees from among key populations and people living with HIV who were forced to leave their homes. 

Within the frames of this event, we would like to discuss and sum up on what has been done already in regards to supporting Ukrainian refugees from among key populations, to compare the approaches of the countries, best practices and/or success stories, as well as the current gaps and the ways to overcome the barriers. 

On the EECA regional level, APH SoS_Project 2.0, together with partners, has been providing case management support for HIV, TB and OAT patients who are relocating to other regions within Ukraine and to other countries. The unique assistance service named “HelpNow” was created within the first week of the war and began its work on March 01, 2022. This service provides information that helps Ukrainians to get access to ART, OAT, anti-tuberculosis drugs, drugs for viral hepatitis and mental assistance within Ukraine, as well as abroad. The HelpNow Team and partners practice the most patient-oriented approach in order to comprehensively meet the needs of clients. As of now more than 1000 requests from refugees or relocated people have already been coordinated by #HelpNow and this number grows every day.  

In April 2022, Alliance for Public Health together with Alliance Consultancy have launched the project “Response to the emergency situation in connection with the war in order to support internally displaced persons within Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees abroad – representatives of key populations (PLHIV, IDUs, SW, MSM, etc.)” to support the continued provision of services to Ukrainian refugees from key populations moving to other countries. The project plans to respond quickly to emergencies to provide as much technical support as possible in the countries where Ukrainian refugees have moved over the last 3 months to meet the most critical needs of refugees belonging to key populations in terms of HIV / AIDS.  Within the framework of the project the temporary “Ukrainian HIV Support Navigation Hub” – “HelpNow HUB”  was established*.

* https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/92808

An official event dedicated to the AIDs Candlelight Memorial was held on May 15 near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

Representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, both Ukrainian and German, representatives of key communities took part in the action.

“For the first time, we honor the memory of people who died of AIDS during the war, which adds even more symbolism and value to every human life. Today, access to ARVs and not only must be uninterrupted for all patients, this is what our efforts are aimed at, – said Sergii Filippovych, Director of SoS_project, ICF “Alliance fo Public Health”. – There is a large community of Ukrainians and people living with HIV in Germany, and there are even more of them with military refugees. Germany is one of the three European countries where Ukrainian patients migrate most often to seek shelter from February 24, according to our coordinating service #HelpNow. That’s why we supported the #HelpNowHUB program in Emergence, which is already working hard. In Ukraine, the situation remains difficult. Many medical facilities have been destroyed, and access to medical services has been hampered in a number of south-eastern regions of Ukraine due to Russian aggression and the occupation of cities. Many doctors, social workers and other civilians have been killed, and I want to underline the heroism and resilience of Ukrainians today. It’s unbelievable: doctors continue to save lives under bombings, social workers continue to work, deliver medicine on foot or by bicycle to patients, and the incredible work of the volunteer community can be talked about for hours. I would like to thank the Alliance Consulting, our partners in Germany and international partners for supporting Ukrainian patients, supporting Ukraine and the future. We will definitely restore and even improve our country and the medical structure and health care system in particular.”

As part of the event, a memorial exhibition was organized – The Quilt memorial, which commemorated people who died of AIDS. Everyone wrote the names of their relatives and friends who were taken away by AIDS. The event was initiated and coordinated by the Association of Refugees Living with HIV from Ukraine in Germany (the Association).

“We need not only to remember those who died, but also to take care of those who are alive and need our support today,” said Volodymyr Zhovtyak, one of the leaders of the Association and co-chair of ECUO. – That is why We, Ukrainians in Germany, unite as the community and continue to help each other. Ukrainian refugees went through the war, lost their loved ones and need medical, psychological, social, humanitarian assistance, so today we are here for that. Thank you to Germany for your support and to your partners for their cooperation.”

Jens Ahrens of the Berliner AIDS-Hilfe said it was important to think about people dying of AIDS every day. Today, not all people have access to ARV therapy. And it’s worth talking out loud about. According to him, the international community is well aware of the need to combat stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and representatives of key communities. He said more efforts were needed, especially today, to improve access to HIV treatment and end AIDS deaths.

The participants continued action and marched from the Brandenburg Gate to the Russian Embassy in Berlin, where an appeal was made to the Russian Consulate. “We want to honour the memory of the lost ones and draw attention to the victims of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine. Because of the war, Ukrainians with HIV were forced to leave their homeland, and faced the problem of meeting their basic needs. Stop yourself, stop your political leaders, because your children will be responsible for this genocide of the Ukrainian people, which is happening in the heart of Europe in the XXI century, “- said the organizers.

“Today is a day of pain for us. We remember those comrades who were with us, who taught us to take therapy, took us to doctors, whom we helped to re-build their lives, cope not only with their illnesses, but also with pressure and repression from the state. This year’s Remembrance Day is unlike any other. Russia’s war against Ukraine has completely turned off the normal life of Ukrainians. We feel this pain. There are 4 people in our organization and we have supported more than 80 people on social support in the last 2 months. These are women, children, elderly people who fled from Russian missiles. People in the 21st century continue to save their lives and we will be happy to help everyone here in Berlin. BerLUN is against the war, We express our support for Ukraine, “said Roman Ledkov, a spokesman for Berlun e-V.

It is an interesting fact that on May 15, 2003 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in an official appeal to the Ukrainian people recognized the Holodomor as an act of genocide. Therefore, on this day, the organizers of the action also remembered the people who died in the 1930s from the artificial famine created by the Soviet authorities in Ukraine, which killed millions of Ukrainians. The problem of famine and the humanitarian crisis in general in the current situation, in connection with the war waged by Russia, has again become relevant not only for Ukraine but also for the whole civilized world.

The event was organized by the HIV+ Refugee Association of Ukraine in Germany, together with BerLUN e-V., With the support of Berliner AIDS-Hilfe, ICF Public Health Alliance, Eastern European and Central Asian PLHIV Association, Trans-Atlantic Medical Relief Foundation Inc.

On February 24, 2022, russia began a devastating attack on Ukraine. During the next weeks, the escalation of the war forced millions to flee their homes in search of shelters and help.

According to* Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as of March 31, 5 weeks after the russian attack began, the number of Ukrainian refugees abroad had reached 4 million. 6.5 million Ukrainians have become internally displaced people. And as hostilities continue, those numbers could rise.

“In the crisis situation in which Ukrainians currently live, the role of broad cooperation and support of friendly countries is incredibly important. And we felt the value of such relations in the first weeks of the war, when European neighbors introduced incredible humanitarian aid to Ukrainians who were forced to flee the war, meeting them at the border, introducing social, medical care and others. We have started to develop strategic approaches to the formation of a mechanism for effective response to emergencies within the framework of a regional partnership”, – said Sergii Filippovych, MD, Director of #SoS_project, Alliance for Public Health. – So we have developed an “Guide for Contingency Planning for Key Population HIV Services” which has been shared in the public domain. But that was only the first step. When we found ourselves in a situation of military crisis, we immediately joined in resolving the issues of providing assistance to representatives of key groups of the population, primarily in obtaining treatment and prevention services. With the support of the Global Fund, we have directed part of the funds to the creation and development of a special Emergency Response program to support Ukrainian patients who found themselves abroad due to the war.”

It should be noted that in response to the challenges of the war, the Alliance for Public Health, ICF launched the HelpNow service of emergency coordination and information assistance in obtaining treatment abroad on March 1. And in April, in partnership with the Alliance Consultancy, a broad program “Emergency response in connection with the war to support internally displaced people within Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees abroad amongst the representatives of key populations and PLHIV” (HelpNow Hub) was launched. The Emergency Response program is implemented within the Regional #SoS_Project, with the financial support of the Global Fund.

According to Sergii Filippovych, MD, the focus of the new program was the rapid establishment of communication, exchange of best practices in ensuring the continuity of services for people living with HIV and representatives of key communities, including the further development of digitalization and telemedicine. “In the strategy of the new program, we focused on creating help hubs in the nearest European countries: Moldova, Poland, Germany and a wide range of coordination, social counseling and psychological support services for Ukrainians around the world.”

The main goal of this project is to provide support and assistance to Ukrainian refugees from key population groups moving to other countries and within Ukraine, including access to information resources, navigation of needs and connection to relevant services related to the provision of appropriate treatment (ART, OST, anti-tuberculosis drugs, etc.). The key areas of work are:

• Information support (preparing and dissemination of information materials about contacts, testing, counseling, adherence to treatment, use of services, support and development of the #HelpNow online service);
• Support navigation and coordination (rapid assessment of existing services, resources and opportunities provided and available to refugees from Ukraine, including access to important services related to HIV / drug use / hepatitis, as well as more general social and life support) and identifying key gaps. Also, planning work in the country and abroad based on the results of this assessment (information support, creation of additional opportunities for social support, legal support, including relevant procurement and process management);
• Immediate social (humanitarian) support, based on a rapid assessment of the situation to address certain gaps, on a case-by-case basis, for additional support or management of forwarding among existing relevant services.

“It is very difficult to predict what figures we will see among refugees and internally displaced people in a month or three, given the activity of hostilities and the likelihood of a “second wave”. But the project team clearly aims at continuous and appropriate support for every representative of vulnerable groups who will turn to us for help.” – comments Vlasta Brodska, Director of Alliance Consultancy, Director of this Project as well. “Many people are already familiar with the work of our #HelpNow service, which started almost from the beginning of the war. And we are glad to inform you that more than 900 people have been successfully coordinated since its launch. We are currently working on the development of all areas of the project, first of all – the launch of a navigation center (hub) to regulate major activities in close cooperation with our partners in the countries where most Ukrainian refugees are currently – Poland and Germany***.”

Also, the planned activities of the project include organizing and systematizing information on available support to various organizations and government agencies in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, providing technical assistance, including the development of alternative communication and coordination channels, online consultations on doctors (“telemedicine”) and further development of the complex HelpNow service.

“Analyzing the existing and potential needs of key vulnerable groups among migrants in host countries, it is worth looking at the situation in more detail. Therefore, the emphasis in the project is not only on the information component, but also on humanitarian aid and the development of shelters for migrants in two regions of Ukraine – Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk. Also, in the future we plan to create special emergency funds to cover the needs of Ukrainian migrants.” – adds Vlasta Brodska.

* – https://twitter.com/FilippoGrandi/status/1509088339017834504

** – HIV+, PWUD, MSM, etc.

*** – According to the UN data, on May 16, Poland has taken in 3,376,992 Ukrainian refugees. In Germany – 295 thousand refugees from Ukraine (according to the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs).