Alliance Ukraine
27/27 oblasts
Alliance-Ukraine’s programmes form the largest integral part of the national response to HIV in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous countries in Europe, around 1.6% of adults are living with HIV. The epidemic is largely concentrated among most-at-risk populations such as injecting drug users and their partners, sex workers, and men who have sex with men. The country’s southern and eastern regions are the most affected by HIV.
Historically, the national response to HIV in Ukraine has been compromised by political instability, frequent changes of leadership, low political commitment and weak capacity. Recognition of the epidemic’s importance has grown in recent years, accompanied by important changes in legislation.
The government decriminalised sex work in 2006 and approved methadone-based opioid substitution therapy for injecting drug users in 2008 as a result of advocacy efforts led by Alliance-Ukraine. The involvement of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has greatly strengthened the role and influence of civil society organisations and their acceptance as equal partners in the response to HIV.
WHAT WE DO
Community action
International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine (Alliance-Ukraine) was established in 2002 and became an independent organisation in 2009.
Alliance-Ukraine is committed to supporting community action on HIV locally, nationally and regionally. The organisation strives to achieve systemic changes and develop a favourable political environment for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.
Expanding treatment access
Between 2004 and 2008 Alliance-Ukraine led the expansion of antiretroviral treatment access in Ukraine, supported by a $98 million grant from the Global Fund.
When the programme began, only 137 people were receiving government-supported antiretroviral therapy. By the end of 2008 almost 10,000 were receiving this lifesaving treatment. Over these years Alliance-Ukraine has supported 94% of HIV-positive pregnant women receiving services to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
In December 2008 the national government officially accepted responsibility for 6,070 people receiving antiretroviral therapy previously supported by Alliance Ukraine.
HIV prevention
Alliance-Ukraine prevention programmes are delivered by over 100 non-governmental partners in all regions of Ukraine. As of April 2009, these had reached more than 214,000 injecting drug users, 36,600 female sex workers, 20,800 men who have sex with men, and 62,800 prisoners. Most funding for prevention activities comes from the Global Fund and USAID’s SUNRISE project.
Alliance-Ukraine is leading on the scaling up of substitution maintenance therapy for injecting drug users. There were 3,989 people receiving this treatment in Ukraine in June 2009, of whom 82% were supported by Alliance-Ukraine.
Sustained support
In August 2007, the Global Fund granted the Alliance and the Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV up to $151 million over five years to continue providing HIV prevention, treatment and care services to the most vulnerable populations.
Alliance-Ukraine is currently negotiating a Phase II grant agreement with the Global Fund, expecting to receive over $60 million funding until mid-2012.
Regional Technical Support Hub
Alliance-Ukraine also hosts the Alliance Regional Technical Support Hub in Kiev, which provides high quality technical support to organisations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
FUTURE PLANS
Due to the successes of their Global Fund programme, the Ukrainian government appointed Alliance-Ukraine as one of the main implementers of the National HIV/AIDS Response Programme for 2009-2013. Alliance-Ukraine considers the expansion and improvement of HIV prevention services to be a major priority.
Alliance-Ukraine is part of a consortium led by Rinat Akhmetov’s Foundation for Development of Ukraine that has submitted a multimillion dollar proposal to the Global Fund (Round 9) for addressing tuberculosis in Ukraine.