Alliance Ukraine exceeds key Global Fund targets
29 June 2006
The Global Fund’s latest annual report highlights the success of Alliance Ukraine as the Global Fund’s Principal Recipient. Significant achievements in 2005 included:
- exceeding key targets for roll out of treatment and prevention services
- reaching vulnerable populations, who are often not reached with large-scale interventions, in every region.
According to the report, “in a brief 18 months, Ukraine has facilitated a complete turnaround of the program, largely because of the collaborative involvement of a broad range of partners”. The Alliance was appointed temporary Principal Recipient of the Global Fund’s grant to Ukraine in early 2004 after the Global Fund suspended its grant due to reservations over the programme’s management.
“Today we are not just facing problems, today we have results,” said Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine. “We have completed the first phase of the programme supported by the Global Fund, exceeding our targets, and Ukraine has now received funds for the next three years of over US $67 million. The biggest progress has been made in scaling up anti-retroviral treatment. Thanks to this treatment programme, the Ministry of Health has now reported a trend in the reduction of HIV-related mortality levels.”
Highlights from the Ukraine country profile in the Global Fund 2005 Annual Report include:
Treatment
To date over 2,700 people are receiving anti-retroviral treatment through the Global Fund grant in Ukraine. The initial grant aimed to provide treatment for 340 people, but when it became clear that expectations were being exceeded, the grant was amended. In time, up to 6,000 people will be able to receive treatment. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 17,000 people in Ukraine need anti-retroviral treatment.
Vulnerable populations reached
Funding has been reaching small, locally-based organisations, which has meant that vulnerable populations – who might otherwise be missed by large-scale programmes – have been reached. Over 120 civil society organisations have implemented prevention, education, treatment and/or care programmes.
Putting AIDS on the agenda
The involvement of a wide range of partners, including civil society, the Ukrainian government and partners such as UNAIDS, the World Health Organization and USAID, has ensured that HIV and AIDS are issues of national focus. According to the report, “Three years ago almost no one was talking about HIV/AIDS. Now there are more than 300 people actively involved in various organizations of people living with HIV, and representatives meet with the Ukrainian president in efforts to keep the issue on the forefront of the political agenda.”
Targets met
Number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment (111.69% of target) Injecting drug users reached by prevention services (158.19% of target) HIV-infected pregnant women receiving a complete course of anti-retroviral prophylaxis to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission (100.59% of target).
Andriy Klepikov, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, said the success of the programme had been possible thanks to the support of Alliance Ukraine’s donors; effective collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Ukrainian AIDS Centre and other governmental institutions; the commitment and professionalism of staff members; a strategic partnership with the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS; collective work on key issues with stakeholders working in HIV/AIDS; and “a strong emotional bond with the people we are working for.”
