USAID increases its support to fight HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine
9 September 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kyiv, September 9 - Christopher D. Crowley, USAID Mission Director and Andriy Pidaev, Minister of Health of Ukraine will join Andriy Klepikov, Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zhovtyak, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian PLHA Network, and Kateryna Gamazina, PATH Ukraine, Deputy Country Manager for Programs, to present Scaling up the National Response to HIV/AIDS through Information and Services (SUNRISE), a new USAID project to enhance prevention efforts directed at communities most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The presentation, followed by a press conference, will take place on Thursday, September 9, 2004, at 2:00 pm at Ukrainian Time news agency at the Ukrainian House, (2, Khreshchatyk Street). Representatives of media and HIV/AIDS stakeholders are kindly invited to attend. For registration, please contact Iryna Strutynska, the Alliance's PR Manager at tel.: +380 44 490 54 85/86/87/88 or strutynska@aidsalliance.org.ua by 6.00 p.m., September 8.
The $8.2 million SUNRISE Project is the first initiative within the newly developed USAID HIV/AIDS strategy for Ukraine that constitutes a substantial increase in resources directed to support the Ukrainian response to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. New funding will complement the recent substantial allocation of resources by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Apart from the focused prevention component, the project also includes activities designed to increase accessibility of care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS and those affected by the epidemic, to strengthen synergies between prevention and care services with particular emphasis on further development of voluntary counselling and testing, as well as to boost the ability of local institutions to deliver vital prevention and care programs.
The project will be implemented by the Alliance in a consortium with the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).
As a leading implementing agency of the Ukrainian Global Fund project, the Alliance has a unique position in coordinating two of the largest Ukrainian HIV/AIDS projects. The Alliance and its partners are committed to developing and maintaining a transparent and collaborative spirit for comprehensive national efforts to prevent further spread of the disease and to alleviate the burden of the epidemic.
Since 1992, USAID has provided over $1.9 billion worth of technical and humanitarian assistance in support of Ukraine 's democratic, economic, and social transition. For more information about USAID in Ukraine, please contact USAID Program Office at +380 44 462-5678.
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Editor’s notes:
1. For more information about the work of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and to arrange interviews, please contact Simon Moore. T: 01273 718744. E: smoore@aidsalliance.org
2. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance has been supporting community action on AIDS in developing countries since 1993. It has worked with community organisations from over 40 developing countries, provided financial support to over 2,500 projects (implemented by over 1,800 community and faith-based groups), and channelled over USD 100 million to organisations across the world. Expenditure in 2005 alone is anticipated to be a further USD 45 million.
