What is AFEW International?

AFEW International is a Dutch non-governmental humanitarian public health organisation dedicated to improving the health of key populations in society.

What does AFEW International do?

With a focus on Eastern Europe and Central Asia, AFEW strives to promote health and increase access to prevention, treatment and care for major public health concerns such as HIV, TB, viral hepatitis, and sexual and reproductive health.

What does the name AFEW mean?

AIDS Foundation East-West.

AFEW had this name during 15 years. In 2017 it was changed because AFEW nowadays works with much more issues than only AIDS.

The story of AFEW International

Doctors without Borders, having an office in Moscow, initiated a prevention programme for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Russia. Within a short time, programmes materialised and a range of activities was developed and implemented. It was a success. A new idea was to set up a new, independent organisation that would focus specifically on the prevention of the AIDS epidemic in EECA. The head office of MSF in Amsterdam supported the idea. A new organisation – AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) was founded.

AFEW International’s birthday

December 1, 2001. It was launched on World AIDS Day.

Where does AFEW International work?

AFEW International works in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and has activities and local partners in almost all countries of the region.

Currently together with partners – AFEW-Kazakhstan, AFEW-Kyrgyzstan, AFEW Russia and AFEW-Ukraine – AFEW International has projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Georgia and Uzbekistan.

AFEW International‘s vision

All people in EECA participate fully and confidently concerning their health and rights, in an inclusive and just society.

What does logo of AFEW International mean?

In the centre of AFEW logo there is a human figure reaching out to give help, and by doing this connecting two worlds: the East and the West. The figure shows our people-centred approach and that we are a humanitarian organization. There are 3 blue and 1 red petals. They reflect the different regions in the world, with red the EECA region.

In 2019 AFEW Network became AFEW Partnership. Why?

A term Network supposes that many organizations can apply to become members of networks. As for AFEW Network, no other organization could apply to become a member. That’s why a term Partnership better reflects AFEW’s structure. That is an equal partnership.

AFEW Partnership today includes:

AFEW International

AFEW Ukraine

AFEW Kyrgyzstan

AFEW Kazakhstan

AFEW Russia