Stigma is one of the biggest barriers to the fight against HIV in the EECA region. To reduce self-stigma of women living with HIV and affected by HIV and to change societal attitudes towards them through reducing social stigma, AFEW partnership (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine) is implementing the project “Combating stigma to end HIV/AIDS in EECA” supported within Gilead’s Zeroing In: Ending the HIV Epidemic program.
Recently, our partners in Ukraine Positive Women have started a new cycle of the Peer-Peer School. 49 women living with HIV from different regions of Ukraine joined it. During 2 months, PF Positive Women conducted 4 out of 12 sessions with the help of specialists to help participants to gain basic knowledge about HIV, such as biology and treatment of HIV infection, women’s health and HIV, ways of transmission of HIV infection, safe behavior, HIV/STD prevention, stigma, self-stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV, etc. Also project coordinators participated in two webinars on development and conducting community-based participatory research.
It was a productive time and there is much more to come. We will work together to make sure that stigma doesn’t exist anymore.
For reference
The project “Combating stigma to end HIV/AIDS in EECA” is implemented by the AFEW Partnership (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine) and aims to reduce self-stigma of women living with HIV and affected by HIV and to change societal attitudes towards them through reducing social stigma.
