The International Charitable Foundation ‘Alliance for Public Health’ now invites journalists to submit their materials for the Third All-Ukrainian competition for the media ‘Drug Dependence and HIV/AIDS in Ukraine: Challenges Caused by the War’.

We invite representatives of national and regional media writing/fliming/documenting problems of drug-dependent people (or other key populations), opioid substitution therapy (OST) patients, risks of aggravation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic caused by the Russian aggression. This activity involves APH providing individual consultations and responses to requests from media concerning the topic, including travels to other regions of Ukraine or abroad for representatives of the media provided they prove that such a travel is justified.

Eligible works are those published or broadcast by their authors (individual or collective) in the period from February 24 to September 30, 2022: https://forms.gle/ECwDX9EVJr5mJUv26.

The All-Ukrainian competition for the media is conducted to raise awareness of the general population about contemporary methods of prevention and treatment of drug-dependence, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, and other diseases dangerous for the society. This year, the competition concerns the risks for drug-dependent patients, sex workers, prisoners, and other key populations caused by the war the Russians started on the territory of Ukraine. These risks may concern sustainability of treatment of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis, as well as protection of human rights of the above key populations.

One of the main goals of the competition is to highlight the risks created by the military aggression, in particular, in terms of interruption of OST and ART, shortage of medicines and violation of human rights on the occupied territories, the need to clearly coordinate the activities of public institutions and civil society organizations.

The jury will comprise of reputable Ukrainian editors and journalists, as well as civil society activists, representatives of the Public Health Center of the MoH of Ukraine, other medical institutions and the APH. The winners will be selected in two stages (the interim stage will involve awarding incentive prizes for the best material of the month; then will be the final awards to the winners). Works having received interim awards will be selected for the final voting! The winners will be selected in the following categories:

• Television and radio.
• Printed and Internet outlets.
• Blogging.

Winners of the competition will receive diplomas and money prizes. Following our tradition, there will be separate recognition of proactive materials (cycles of texts/stories, creation of special projects, collaboration of several outlets).

Requirements to materials taking part in the competition:

• Texts/stories/broadcasts can be created in any language of national minorities (provided there is a translation in Ukrainian).
• The publications should reflect the realities in the situation of the Russian aggression and reflect the state of affairs with a special attention to resolution of problems.
• The jury will favor those texts/stories/broadcasts that reflect the current situation in a reasonable and unbiased way, focusing on human rights and referring to the best international practices for elimination of stigma and discrimination against key populations.
• Also, the materials may cover individual aspects of drug dependence and HIV, such as drug dependence among women, changes in the drug scene during the war, problems created by Russian invaders, etc.
• All the materials sent by representatives of the media need to be original and free from plagiarism.
• An author (or a collective of authors) can submit an unlimited number of materials.
• To participate in the competition, please enter the data about your material in the registration form: https://forms.gle/ECwDX9EVJr5mJUv26 .

The deadline for submission of the materials is 30 September 2022 (18:00). We encourage you to submit the materials during the whole period of the competition to contend for interim awards!

You can watch the course of the competition at our web site https://aph.org.ua/uk/golovna/ and on the FB page of the Alliance for Public Health https://www.facebook.com/AlliancePublicHealth.

Last year’s winners:

https://fb.watch/cXCnQSCiFs/

Last year’s jury board: https://www.facebook.com/292771570826911/posts/4044211152349582/?d=n

The best materials will be published at web resources of the ICF ‘Alliance for Public Health’, so by submitting a material, authors automatically agree to such a publication.

The Third All-Ukrainian competition for the media ‘Drug Dependence and HIV/AIDS: Challenges Caused by the War’ is conducted as a part of the ‘Gain Momentum in Reducing TB/HIV Burden in Ukraine’ project implemented by the ICF ‘Alliance for Public Health’ with the support from the Global Fund.

On May 15 at 11.00 in Berlin there will be held an action dedicated to the World Day of Remembrance of People Who Died of AIDS. As part of the event, HIV-positive refugees from Ukraine, who were forced to leave their country as a result of russian aggression, will organize a quilt memorial where people who died of AIDS will be commemorated. We plan to draw attention to the needs and problems that HIV-infected Ukrainians face daily in Germany.

As part of the action, a procession is planned, which will begin at the Brandenburg Gate and end in front of the russian Embassy in Berlin. We want to honor the memory of the victims and draw attention to the victims of russia’s military aggression in Ukraine because of which HIV-positive Ukrainians were forced to leave their homeland and facedthe problem of meeting their basic needs.

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. Today we also want to remind about the people who died in the 30s of the twentieth century from the famine artificially created by the soviet authorities in Ukraine, as a result of which millions of Ukrainians died. The problem, hunger in the current situation, in connection with the war unleashed by russia, has again become relevant not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world.

The following will take part in the action:

• Volodymyr Zhovtyak is one of the leaders of the Association of HIV+ Refugees from Ukraine in Germany, Co-Chair East Europe and Central Asia Union of PLWH
• Roman Ledkov, representative of Berlun e-V. , is an activist from russia who defends the rights of people living with HIV and people with experience of drug use who are forced to move from Eastern Europe.
• Sergii Filippovych, director of SoS_project 2.0 at the Alliance for Public Health (APH)
• Vasilisa Sutushko – leader of “Pidlitki Ukraiini” TEENS Ukraine
• Berliner AIDS-Hilfe

The action is organized by the Association of HIV+ Refugees from Ukraine in Germany, together with BerLUN e-V. , with the support of Berliner AIDS-Hilfe, Alliance for Public Health (APH), East Europe and Central Asia Union of PLWH (ECUO), Trans-Atlantic Medical Relief Foundation Inc.

Within the framework of the event, an approach to the press of the organizers and participants of the campaign is planned.

The action will begin on May 15 at 11.00 near the Brandenburg Gate and will end in front of the russian Embassy.

Timing:

11:00 – 11:25 A spread of Quilt’s commemorative canvas.

11:25 – 11:35 opening speech

11:35 – 11:36 minute of silence in memory of the victims

11:40 – 12:00 walk from the Brandenburg Gate to the Embassy of the Russian Federation

12:00 – 12:15 Lighting of commemorative candles

12:15 – 12:25 speaking of  the organizers of the action

12:25 – 12:26 minute of silence in memory of the fallen soldiers of Ukraine

12:30 – 12:45  press briefing

Contact Person:

Inna Gavrylova, gavrylova@aph.org.ua

Representatives of civil society and social networks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia addressed an open letter on the WHO’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. They demand that the World Health Organization recognize Russia’s aggression as a threat to public health, human rights and democratic values in Ukraine and around the world, and urge WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Gebreis to visit Ukraine in the coming days.
“WHO and other international agencies’ statements should be carefully considered in the context of a war of misinformation that Russia is leading to discredit Ukraine, lying to the world that Ukrainians are Nazis, – it is said in the letter. – It is very important that appealing to principles of justice, equity and equality – should lead to catalyzing responses in Ukraine, and particularly regarding key populations, and lead to the acceptance of more refugees from Ukraine, and justify doing more to oppose Russian aggression against this peaceful nation”.
The authors of the letter expect that the WHO, in accordance with its mandate, will do more to prepare a national health response to hostilities in the Donbas. Responses should be independent of the contributions of the Russian Federation or other Member States to WHO.
“We, regional and global public health professionals and community and civil society activists, call on WHO to make a strong statement on Ukraine, with clear public health messaging and a bold plan to support people in need and mitigate human suffering that will come with the escalation of the Russian military activities in the Eastern part of Ukraine and Donbas region in particular!
According to the authors of the appeal, the war is expected to intensify in the coming days in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, and the country still lacks doctors, medicines and basic medical equipment.
“Ukraine alone is not ready to be able to support lives in the East of Ukraine on its own, without an accelerated increase of international assistance in all key areas, – they say. – We respect the technical support provided by WHO regional and country offices who are working hard to support the health response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, but need further actions of the leading global public health opinion shapers to encourage more support and mitigate the anticipated casualties”.

Open letter from civil society and community networks on WHO health response to the war of Russia against Ukraine

Today is exactly a month since the terrible war in Ukraine started. On 24 February 2022, unprecedented military aggression against the civilian population of our country began. Every day, hundreds of women, children and elderly people are killed and injured in Ukrainian cities and villages hit by the enemy’s air strikes and shelling. Millions of Ukrainians have to leave their homes and seek refuge in the West. Those who are not able to leave, spend weeks in basements and bomb shelters, not suitable for long stay, without proper air ventilation or sanitation; many of them have no electricity, connection, medicines or food…

In these dire conditions, people with tuberculosis (TB) have become even more vulnerable due to the threat of treatment interruption and late diagnosis.

In spite of the danger, our partner NGOs in the regions of Ukraine are doing the impossible! They selflessly continue providing medical and psychosocial support to people with TB: they are reviewing their needs, which have increased greatly during the war, delivering food and hygiene kits and providing people with medicines, which is especially important considering unstable transport connections.

Even in the regions facing a humanitarian crisis, patients with sensitive and drug-resistant TB still receive treatment and humanitarian aid. In occupied Kherson, 332 patients receive therapy and social support on a timely basis and afterwards together with NGO employees go to the rallies against Russian occupation. In Donetsk, Kyiv and Mykolaiv regions, which are under daily artillery shelling and missile attacks, partner organizations supported by Alliance provide support to over 900 patients. They do it in basements and bomb shelters. Many patients had to leave their homes and seek not only refuge but also treatment in other safer regions. For over two weeks, there is no connection with TB patients and social workers in Mariupol. We have no idea if they are still alive.

Alliance is providing humanitarian aid to inpatient hospital departments offering treatment to people with TB on the territories with active hostilities. As for the patients transitioned to outpatient care, they are under medical and psychosocial supervision. To support such patients, Alliance in cooperation with partners developed a mechanism of patient referral and information sharing among NGOs.

Since the first days of the war, together with our partner NGOs in the regions of Ukraine and in cooperation with the Public Health Center we do everything possible to save the lives and health of people affected by TB and their communities. Alliance has been involved in the procurement, arrangement and delivery of humanitarian aid. As well as all our partners in the country, we work round the clock seven days a week to help people during the war, but it may be not enough.

Historically, TB outbreaks have been seen in the times of military conflicts. They happened after World War I and World War II. The same will happen after Ukraine-Russia war! The longer it lasts, the bigger and the more dangerous the new TB outbreak will be.

That is why, recognizing the support of our international partners, who help us in word and in deed in these hard times for our country, we call the international community to make its efforts even stronger! You must increase the pressure of sanctions against the aggressor and scale up the humanitarian support to Ukraine. Let this year’s slogan of the World TB Day be Invest to End TB War in Ukraine. Save Lives.

Special Issue: Situation in Mariupol. Situational Report: response of Alliance to challenges caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine

In this unimaginable humanitarian disaster when all of Ukraine is on fire because of unprovoked Russian aggression, civilian infrastructure in many cities and towns is destroyed (includingprivate homes, kindergarten, and health care facilities), millions of people fled their homes fear of saving their lives and trying to reach safe places – the Alliance of Public Health – the leading non-governmental professional organization making a significant impact on the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and other socially dangerous diseases in Ukraine – is, as always, in the frontline fighting for Ukraine and its people. We would like to proclaim, that we are a Ukrainian international organization and we stay with the people of Ukraine in this struggle for the sovereignty of Ukraine. Being working with vulnerable groups and people in hard living conditions during all times of our activity, Alliance is reprogramming its activities to respond to this unprecedented emergency and human suffering to support people fleeing the conflict with evacuation within Kyivand to support the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and health facilities with medical supplies and emergency surgical equipment. We also would like to support the medical workers on the front line with first aid kits, food, warm clothing, and protective gear. Alliance is committed to continuing its support for the beneficiaries of our programs who in these difficult times need support to access vital treatment and other health-related services

To support the people of Ukraine and our work on the provision of emergency assistance, we would like to ask for your support by donations in any amount in the following accounts:

Beneficiary: International Charitable Foundation “Alliance for Public Health”

Address: 24 Bulvarno-Kudriavska St., 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine

Bank name: JSC “Credit Agricole Bank”

SWIFT code: AGRIUAUKXXX

Bank address: 42/4, Pushkinska St., Kyiv – 01004, Ukraine

Purpose of Payment: Humanitarian donation.

In USD:

Account number: UA073006140000026009500299105

Correspondent bank name: Credit Agricole SA (France)

SWIFT code: AGRIFRPP

Account Number: 20586620000

Correspondent bank address: 12, place des Etats-Unis 92127 Montrouge Cedex, France

In EUR:

Account number: UA063006140000026000500198937

Correspondent bank name: Credit Agricole S.A.

SWIFT code: AGRIFRPP

Acc. No.: 20586612000

Correspondent bank address: Paris, France

In GBP:

Account number: UA773006140000026008500198939

Correspondent bank name: Credit Agricole SA (France)

SWIFT code: AGRIFRPP

Acc. No.: 21185549000

Correspondent bank address: 12, place des Etats-Unis 92127 Montrouge Cedex, France

Together we can help!

Slava Ukraina!

In 2022, the implementation of the three-year regional project “Sustainability of Services for Key Populations in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) Region” (abbr. #SoS 2.0) has begun. Its total budget is $13 million.

As a result of the implementation of the strategy of the three-year project, it is expected to improve the sustainability of health systems in the context of HIV prevention and treatment, human rights, in 14 countries of the region: Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Montenegro.

Efforts of regional and national #SoS 2.0 partners will be aimed at ensuring, by 2024, savings of at least 20% of funds due to optimization of test systems (CD4, BH) procurement prices, as well as at least 15% due to optimization of ART procurement prices.

The project is coordinated by the ICF “Alliance for Public Health” in partnership with the CO “100% Life“, in consortium with the Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV and SEE RCN, WHO European Office, PAS Center, EHRA, ECOM, EWNA, ENPUD, EKPC. Also, national state and non-governmental organizations representing the interests of vulnerable to HIV groups of the population, as well as people living with HIV, will be involved in the implementation of the project.

Andreas Tamberg, Portfolio Manager, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: “The #SoS 2.0 project is an unprecedented civil society initiative to fight HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Entering the second phase of the project, #SoS_project 2.0 brings together a number of leading non-governmental organizations into a consortium working to remove barriers, improve access and increase the sustainability of life-saving services for key populations in 15 countries. Thus, #SoS_project 2.0 has a unique opportunity to stimulate progress that can end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat, both in the region and globally. The Global Fund has renewed its support for the SoS project with the confidence that it will maximize the involvement of those most affected by HIV/AIDS while leaving no one behind in the fight against this deadly epidemic.”

Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the Alliance for Public Health: “What are the opportunities for regional initiatives? It can be relatively small funding compared to a country one. In this project, the priority is on regional instruments and catalytic interventions. We are talking about model policies and practices/tools, pilots, regional networks. This project works with regional community networks, drug policy commission, raises issues of strategic pilot interventions that have great potential. This is an opportunity to share experience in the development of regulations that have worked in one of the countries. Digitalization is a very important direction. We see that sustainability today is the readiness of services to survive in a variety of situations, including pandemics and political tensions. Such difficult tasks are set by the regional initiative”.

It should be noted that the successful experience and expertise of the previous project will be used in the new one. For example, ART cost reduction techniques, which were used in the #SoS project for EECA countries in 2019-21, will be introduced in the Balkans. Successes in budget advocacy and municipal responses will also be used, the project team will work to increase funding and attract new cities to cooperation, especially in the SEE region.

Dmitry Sherembey, Chairman of the “100% Life” Coordination Council: “The implementation of the #SoS project in 2019-2021 has shown that our experience is in demand in the EECA region and leads to tangible results. We hope that the knowledge and expertise we have accumulated will help us reach a new qualitative level, and we will make every effort to achieve it.”

“In the new project, we continue to focus on strengthening the Test-and-Treat approach, reducing the prices of testing and treatment, human rights and budget advocacy. Among the new focuses of the project: reducing the price of HIV diagnosis, work on the decentralization of ART, a significant expansion and institutionalization of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an even greater emphasis on the rights of key populations, advocacy of services for migrants and significant work on digitalization,” said Tetiana Deshko, Director of the Department of International Programs, Alliance for Public Health.

Also, the new project plans to implement two strategic pilots: substitution therapy for stimulant users and PrEP with new long-acting ARVs. This focus is obvious given the main group that the epidemic in the region is associated with. Thus, about half of new HIV cases are registered annually among people who inject drugs. The drug scene is changing, and people who use drugs are exposed to new risks of infection. “In Europe, there are programs on ST for stimulant users, including in the Czech Republic, where we plan to learn from experience. We hope to launch a pilot in one country as a model for the region”, – said Sergey Filippovich, Project Director. – “As for the use of long-acting ARVs, this is a game changer for the response to HIV. Pre-exposure prophylaxis for the most vulnerable groups, an implant for a year, for example, will significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection. And for the Russian Federation, where there are no such effective and essential ST programs for PWUD, such an approach can finally have a fundamental impact on the HIV epidemic.”

“We know what programs we need to reduce the risks and improve the quality of life of people who use psychoactive substances (PS), we talked about them in detail in the ENPUD OST Position and Harm Reduction Open Letter,” – said Olga Belyaeva, Program Coordinator of ENPUD. – “It is important for ENPUD to provide opportunities for activists to work in conditions of repression, stigma and criminalization. The ENPUD model is the unification of community activists into regional thematic councils that jointly solve problems at the national level. The experience of the Expert Council for the Treatment of ENPUD has shown the benefits of cross-country cooperation: almost 18,000 participants in OST programs received targeted assistance in Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. People got access to the medicine and/or we helped restore the hand-delivery service in 2021.”

She emphasized: “The goal of ENPUD in #SoS_project 2.0 is to restore the rights of people who use psychoactive substances, so that officials, police, doctors, guilty of violating rights and causing harm, are adequately punished. At the same time, our task – to form an allied movement for a humane drug policy, i.e. return the value of the life of every person who uses PS”.

Additional Information:

The previous regional project, implemented in 2019-2021 in 15 countries of the EECA and SEE region, became the foundation for a broad partnership and consolidation of efforts in the region. Over three years of operation, over $30 million in public funding for HIV services has been allocated through social contracting mechanisms in the region. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most important achievements of the joint efforts of the #SoS_project partners and the governments of the region.

Significant contributions have also been made to advocacy for lower prices for antiretroviral therapy. For example, the cost of an annual course of first-line ART has decreased to an average of US$131 across the region, while the average cost of first-line ART in nine countries in the region in 2017 was US$192. The $119 million saved from these efforts remained inside AIDS programs.

The results of the #SoS_project 2019-2021 were widely presented at the “Health Sustainability Forum: HIV and COVID-19 in the EECA Region”, a video is available by the following link.

* HIV-vulnerable populations, key populations: people living with TB; people who use drugs; sex workers; men who have sex with men, trans* people, migrants.

On February 24, 2022, from 11:00 to 12:30 (EET), an online presentation of the results of a new pilot study to assess the prevalence of antibodies to COVID-19 in five cities of Ukraine: Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Ternopil and Uzhgorod will take place.

Over the past 2 years, similar studies have also been carried out in Sweden, USA, Italy, India, Pakistan and South Africa, the overall results of which will also be presented for discussion.

Registration for participation: https://bit.ly/3Ho5U7E

Researchers in the presentations will answer the following questions:

– How much the COVID-19 epidemic affected Ukraine really?

– What is the chronology of the COVID-19 epidemic in Ukraine, judging by the population of blood donors? Does this picture match the official data?

– What age and gender groups are more likely to have antibodies to COVID-19?

– How often do people get infected with COVID-19 and don’t even know about it? What is the real proportion of asymptomatic carriers, and what is the proportion of those who need to be hospitalized for medical care?

– What percentage of individuals with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis COVID-19 were found to have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 at different times after illness?

The sample of the pilot study on the prevalence of antibodies to the pathogen SARS-CoV-2 included blood donors from five cities of Ukraine.

“Comparing the data of the blood test of donors according to the criterion of the dynamics of detection the new cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine, we saw that the results of official statistics on the dynamics have the same fluctuations in the same periods. Thus, by examining the blood of donors, it is possible to monitor not only the general epidemiological situation, but also to identify with great accuracy those indicators that cannot be tracked in any other way. For example, what is the real proportion of asymptomatic carriers in the country and we can already answer this question, at least for 5 regions”, – says Nadiya Yanhol, C19RM Coordinator of the #SoS_project 2.0 at the Alliance for Public Health.

Thus, according to the results of the study, the frequency of detection of COVID-19 in blood donors was 45.5%: from 25.8% in Uzhgorod to 61% in Zhytomyr. Almost half or every second of the blood donors who did not have symptoms of acute respiratory infections or COVID-19 had COVID-19 asymptomatically.

Speakers of the event: experts from the Alliance for Public Health, the Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases named after. L.V. Gromashevsky of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, as well as experts from the Blood Service Association of Ukraine, the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the World Health Organization, etc.

Event language: English and Russian with simultaneous translation.

The current program and detailed information will be published on the Facebook event page: https://bit.ly/3ujtoqV.

According to Nadiya Yanhol, the study results are an effective source and tool for monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic in the country, in terms of the unique obtained data and optimal financial costs. “As an international charitable foundation, we aim in our work to provide maximum support for the sustainability of national healthcare systems in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Therefore, we monitor international experience, develop partnerships and, have more mobility than state institutions with the support of international donors. So we promptly conduct the latest research to test innovative approaches in the country with subsequent transfer of experience to partners from government agencies. For example, last year we developed Guide for Contingency Planning for Key Population HIV Services during COVID-19 and Other Emergencies, and after receiving the results of this operational research, we were unequivocally convinced that this is the most valuable resource for the government in addressing the managerial and scientific tasks, which have become even more relevant after a broad nationwide vaccination program and new strains of COVID-19.”

The event will be interesting for researchers and experts in the field of healthcare, the media, as well as representatives of civil society and government agencies involved in countering the COVID-19 epidemic, in order not only to demonstrate the results of the study, but also to offer authorities and society a completely new, effective financial cost points, a tool for monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic in Ukraine, and solving new managerial and scientific challenges that have become relevant after a broad nationwide vaccination program and new strains of COVID-19 in Ukraine.

The organisers of the event is the ICF Alliance for Public Health, the Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases named after. L.V. Gromashevsky of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, as well as experts from the Blood Service Association of Ukraine.

***

The event was organized with the support of  the Regional project “Sustainability of services for key populations in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia” (#SoS_project 2.0) with financial support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Alliance for Public Health, as well as other 113 civil society organisations, clinicians, advocates, and communities affected by COVID-19 urge in the Open Letter the World Health Organisation (WHO) to rapidly recommend self-testing for COVID-19 and request a leadership in more broadly improving access to diagnostics for virus. 

Specifically, signatories call on WHO to expedite the finalisation and release of a self-testing guideline for SARS-CoV-2 infection that includes a strong recommendation in favour of widespread access to self-testing.  Three major reasons that access to diagnostics broadly, and rapid antigen detection testing (RADTs) for self-testing in particular, needs to be urgently accelerated:

1. Individuals have a fundamental right to “know their status”.
2. Self-testing is critical to prevent onward transmission and to empower individuals to protect their families and communities.

3. Self-testing is a necessary tool to enable rapid linkage to care and initiation of outpatient treatment to prevent hospitalisation and death, especially among those at high risk of disease progression.

According to Nadiya Yanhol, C19RM Coordinator of the #SoS_project 2.0 at the Alliance for Public Health, expanding access to rapid tests for COVID-19, in parallel with vaccination, and especially against the backdrop of the emergence of the first drugs in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, is urgently needed in the region. “As part of the COVID program, we are approached by representatives of NGOs and representatives of key populations with a request to provide a COVID-19 antigen tests for self-testing. At the community level, timely identification of clients infected with the virus is very important, because there is a risk of stopping the work of vital HIV services, if quarantine is necessary. The use of tests should be as convenient and safe as possible. After all, the patient takes the analysis on his own, without the participation of the medical staff, which does not require additional material costs. This is very convenient and prevents further spread of COVID-19.”

The #SoS_project team saw certain risks in the fact that the available tests did not have individual packaging, therefore, to confirm the hypothesis, they conducted a survey among end-users of tests about the convenience of using them in non-individual packaging.

“66% of those surveyed used the test for self-testing. 55%* noted that they experienced obvious discomfort during testing, since the tests were not individually packaged. They noted that sterility is not ensured in this way due to the lack of individual packaging, which is a certain barrier. Today, this request still remains unanswered, as it is not possible to purchase tests in individual packages on the Global Fund’s procurement platform. Also, today there are no WHO recommendations and national guidelines in the EECA countries that would recommend the use of Sars-Cov-2 Ag rapid tests for self-testing.” – says Nadiya Yanhol.

*of respondents who used the test from the general packaging for individual testing

Full text of the Open Letter.