Progress to date

During 2022 we managed to create two working groups regarding the development of a pilot project on long-acting PrEP for key population groups (KPG) in Ukraine or other country in the EECA region with pharmaceutical companies – ViiV Healthcare (ViiV) regarding long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA) and GILEAD regarding long-acting lenacapavir (LA PrEP). Our main goal during communication is to provide 100 representatives of KPG with long-acting PrEP as part of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention with technical support from the Alliance for Public Health and donation of a drug from a pharmaceutical company as an additional HIV prevention option for people at high risk of HIV infection.

Progress to date

ECOM in partnership with WHO regional office for Europe analyzed five national PrEP protocols (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Ukraine) and provided Report with recommendations on the steps needed to include PrEP into nationally approved standard package of servises.

Progress to date

Research protocol developed and submitted for review to the IRB.

Progress to date

60 stationary places for living in shelters in Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions were organized with support of food, transportation, coverage of a basic package of medicines and household goods, clothing for 405 people from key groups and members of their families. Provided technical support to 4 shelters (Poltava, Cherkasy, Kryvyi Rih and Zhytomyr). 70 payments were made for the payment of rent and provision of proper social and living conditions for the participants of the OST program. 22 payments were made to victims of violence from the Russian occupiers. In total, more than 1,500 people were covered by the program.

Progress to date

Activity currently being funded from alternative sources.

Progress to date

Work on shelters has expanded – in addition to 5 shelters for working with women who use drugs in conditions of violence (Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan), support for flexible shelters for representatives of the LGBT community in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been added. The program was distinguished by a special programmatic approach to working with clients – about 3,200 clients received material assistance in the form of food packages (Georgia, Kazakhstan). PPE support in Kaz for migrants and KGP (124,000 disposable masks, 1,000 antiseptics); CLM to provide quality services for clients of OST programs in 7 countries.

Progress to date

Purchased 120 thousand rapid antigen tests for COVID (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine) and 4,000 PCR tests for Ukraine to test key population groups and their close contacts.

Progress to date

Current testing and treatment protocols analysis is finished in 7 countries (Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine) and recommendations to align the national protocols with the WHO guidelines are provided. The report is available at the link.

WHO has held the analysis of HIV testing guidelines in 6 countries of EECA – Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. The report is available at the link.

Progress to date

Assessment of the sustainability of the opioid agonist therapy programme in the context of transition from donor support to domestic funding was conducted in Moldova and Tajikistan. The reports are being finalized and sent for design, they’ll be published by the end of Q1 2023. The assessments in Albania, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine are ongoing and will be finalized in 2023.

Progress to date

On December 9, the REGMH with the assistance of the NCC Secretariat held in Dushanbe a Roundtable “Protection of health of migrants from Tajikistan”. The event was timed to presentation of a new study conducted by the REGMH: “Situation and Economic analysis of HIV-related health services in the field of migration in Tajikistan”.

On December 13, 2022, the Regional Expert Group on Migration and Health together with Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV held a Roundtable in Almaty “Health of HIV positive migrants in Kazakhstan”. The aim of the Round Table was to promote effective and timely treatment of international migrants living with HIV. During the meeting, the Situational and Economic analysis on the provision of HIV-related health services for international migrants in Kazakhstan was presented and discussed.

On December 19, REG together with local NGO “Real World. Real People” held a Roundtable in Armenia, Yerevan aimed to buster a discussion and exchange of experience on the provision of services for international HIV-positive migrants between heads of health authorities of the Republic of Armenia, government departments responsible for migration and civil society organizations. At the meeting, a study “Analysis of legal and institutional barriers to accessing HIV services among migrants in the Republic of Armenia” (developed by REG in 2021) was presented.

Also, in Q4 REG has launched a study is Kyrgyzstan.

On October 11, REG held an online meeting “Migrants’ access to HIV services in Central Asia and Caucasus” that gathered representatives of UNAIDS, Central Asian Association of PLHIV (Kazakhstan), TB People (Georgia), NGO “Real World, Real People” (Armenia), IFRC Central Asia, WHO Europe, Elton John AIDS Foundation, NGO Equality Movement (Georgia), AFEW (Kyrgyzstan), IFRC South Caucasus, Global Fund, WHO, and MSF. The goal of the meeting was to initiate a discussion and work out possible solutions to provide access to HIV services for those who urgently left the countries following the political situation.

Progress to date

Small Grants Programme with 4 selected projects run by grass-root NGOs in 2022 included:

• “National Trans Coalition” NGO with the project titled “HIV prevention in Armenia through gender mainstreaming” (Armenia);
• “The Public Association “Union for Equity and Health” NGO with the project titled “Gender Equality for sex workers” (Moldova);
• “Rromnjako Ilo” Zrenjanin he Public Association” NGO with the project titled “Check your health – Equality for Trans Roma and Roma women/girls sex workers” (Serbia);
• “NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION «NASHA DOPOMOGA»” with the project titled “RIGHT TO HEALTH!” (Ukraine).

Progress to date

On December 9, the REGMH with the assistance of the NCC Secretariat held in Dushanbe a Roundtable “Protection of health of migrants from Tajikistan”. The event was timed to presentation of a new study conducted by the REGMH: “Situation and Economic analysis of HIV-related health services in the field of migration in Tajikistan”.

On December 13, 2022, the Regional Expert Group on Migration and Health together with Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV held a Roundtable in Almaty “Health of HIV positive migrants in Kazakhstan”. The aim of the Round Table was to promote effective and timely treatment of international migrants living with HIV. During the meeting, the Situational and Economic analysis on the provision of HIV-related health services for international migrants in Kazakhstan was presented and discussed.

On December 19, REG together with local NGO “Real World. Real People” held a Roundtable in Armenia, Yerevan aimed to buster a discussion and exchange of experience on the provision of services for international HIV-positive migrants between heads of health authorities of the Republic of Armenia, government departments responsible for migration and civil society organizations. At the meeting, a study “Analysis of legal and institutional barriers to accessing HIV services among migrants in the Republic of Armenia” (developed by REG in 2021) was presented.

On October 11, REG held an online meeting “Migrants’ access to HIV services in Central Asia and Caucasus” that gathered representatives of UNAIDS, Central Asian Association of PLHIV (Kazakhstan), TB People (Georgia), NGO “Real World, Real People” (Armenia), IFRC Central Asia, WHO Europe, Elton John AIDS Foundation, NGO Equality Movement (Georgia), AFEW (Kyrgyzstan), IFRC South Caucasus, Global Fund, WHO, and MSF. The goal of the meeting was to initiate a discussion and work out possible solutions to provide access to HIV services for those who urgently left the countries following the political situation.

Progress to date

Cumulatively, during 2022 there were registered 6700+ cases in 13 countries (Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Serbia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) involving 170+ CBOs, as well as regional networks such as ECOM (in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) and ENPUD (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Belarus).

The following publications are available:

• Statistic country reports by APH on human rights violations based on REAct data collected in 2021 in Kyrgyzstan, in Georgia, in Moldova, in Tajikistan.
• Protectors or Perpetrators: the impact of unlawful policing on human rights and HIV. Join analytical publication in partnership with Frontline AIDS, Alliance for Public Health (Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Georgia, Uzbekistan), AIDS Foundation (South Africa), Gender Dynamix.
• Report on the results of the analysis of the Hotline calls by APH: Domestic and other forms of violence against women living with HIV and women in key populations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tajikistan.
• REAct Statistical Report for the 1st half of 2022 by APH. Violations of the rights of people living with HIV and representatives of vulnerable groups in Georgia.
  Situational Report by APH: Drug policy in Georgia and Challenges.
• Series of publications by APH based on REAct data within regional campaign “16 days against gender-based violence”.

Progress to date

ToR for the dashboard is under development; methodologies and approaches to data collection for the social contacting and sustainability and transition portals are being updated.

Progress to date

ToR is developed, specifications are being developed, team is being trained, development is due to start in April 2023.

Progress to date

Concept is developed, scripts are under development, research is being carried out to identify the optimal technical framework.

Progress to date

Targeted activities were held in all project countries to discuss with national and international, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders the changes needed to enable sustainable and uninterrupted funding of HIV-related activities from national resources. Through targeted advocacy, technical support, and an integrated approach to HIV funding, in 2022 the project team managed to allocate approximately 1,7 million USD at the national level to programs for key populations, using social contracting mechanisms: Moldova – 154,126.84 USD; Kazakhstan – 118,529.33 USD; Kyrgyzstan – 61,000 USD; Tajikistan – 19,200.00 USD; Georgia – 357,000 USD; Ukraine – 931,453.96 USD.

Progress to date

Targeted activities were held in all project countries to discuss with national and international, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders the changes needed to enable sustainable and uninterrupted funding of HIV-related activities from national resources. Through targeted advocacy, technical support, and an integrated approach to HIV funding, in 2022 the project team managed to allocate approximately 1,7 million USD at the national level to programs for key populations, using social contracting mechanisms: Moldova – 154,126.84 USD; Kazakhstan – 118,529.33 USD; Kyrgyzstan – 61,000 USD; Tajikistan – 19,200.00 USD; Georgia – 357,000 USD; Ukraine – 931,453.96 USD.

Progress to date

In the reporting period, the Emergency package of services for key and vulnerable groups of the population in the field of HIV, and TB in the context of military conflicts was finalized, including tariffication. On its basis, in 2023, the process of advocacy and promotion of implementation at the level of countries in the EECA region will be launched.