Saving lives
“Civil society organizations have proven themselves successful program implementers, in addition to their role in governance and oversight.”
Partners in Impact – Results Report 2007, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and MalariaThe Alliance has been working with the Global Fund in Ukraine since 2004, when it was appointed temporary Principal Recipient for work to overcome the country’s HIV epidemic. This includes reducing HIV incidence and mortality, and reinforcing the national response to HIV. The Alliance is now in the second phase of this programme and is making real progress in one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics, thanks to the active participation of supporting and implementing organisations and new partnerships between the government, NGOs and local networks.
Increasing numbers of adults and children are now receiving life-saving treatment. Over 3,700 people received antiretroviral (ARV) treatment in 2006, and nearly 4,500 women accessed services to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
Prevention services for groups most vulnerable to HIV also increased significantly in 2006, with more than 110,000 injecting drug users, 15,000 women involved in commercial sex, 7,000 men who have sex with men and 29,000 prisoners accessing prevention services. Financial and technical support to 150 NGOs has also helped to establish a new public drive to tackle HIV in Ukraine.
At the end of 2006, over 430 people were receiving opiate substitution therapy, which can help support people to adhere to ARV treatment. We plan to increase this figure to 6,000 by October 2008. In addition, through the Global Fund programme, the Alliance also plans to further increase the number of people receiving ARV treatment to 6,000 and will work with treatment and NGO support services to build their capacity in this area. We will also work to ensure sustainable government funding and procurement to support this.
