Maybe one of the most important sessions at the recent 22nd International AIDS Conference held in Amsterdam was the session, which raised the question why we still fail in responding to the epidemic among people who inject drugs. Participants of the session were able to consider this problem from the different points of view: science, law enforcement and community of people who use drugs.
In response to the rapidly increasing number of new HIV infections in the WHO European Region, the action plan for the health sector response to HIV in WHO European Region was endorsed at the 66th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in September 2016. From December 2017 to April 2018, the WHO Regional Office for Europe collected good practices in implementation of the action plan and compiled them in this compendium.
Just before the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam AIDS 2018, a new Global AIDS Update prepared by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was presented in Paris. The report shows that the HIV epidemic is still growing in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In the recent year, the number of new HIV cases in the region has doubled.
Ukraine presented its experience in engaging young people who use drugs in the HIV and human rights response during International AIDS Conference AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam. Organisations ACO “Convictus Ukraine”, ICF “AIDS Foundation East-West” (AFEW-Ukraine), CF “Return to Life” and CF “KCF “Blago” shared the results of their work.
Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an antiretroviral method of HIV prevention recommended to men who have sex with men (MSM) at high risk of infection. In Kazakhstan, which has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics globally, PrEP is not currently available. The aim of this study is to explore the possibilities for PrEP initiatives in Kazakhstan by investigating awareness and acceptability of this prevention method among MSM. This mixedmethods study employs an online survey and qualitative interviews to describe PrEP awareness and acceptability. Less than half (39.8%) of survey participants had heard of PrEP.
Author: Olesya Kravchuk, AFEW International AFEW International received the Emergency Support Fund Manager grant from the Elton John
More than 35 sessions of the main program of the 22nd International AIDS Conference AIDS 2018 will be translated simultaneously into Russian. By the way, simultaneous translation into Russian is provided for the first time after the break since the AIDS conference in 2010. Download the list of these sessions on our website.
The overview of AFEW Network activitie at the 22nd International AIDS Conference AIDS 2018 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 23-27, 2018
With 22nd International AIDS Conference approaching in about two weeks, AFEW Network issued a guide for AIDS 2018 visitors with the useful information. The guide provides general information about Amsterdam – the home city for AIDS 2018. It also has information on public transport, drug policy, medical services, police, culture in the Netherlands, and practical questions. The guide is in English and Russian languages and it can be downloaded on our website.
As estimated by UNAIDS, 35 million people globally died of AIDS-associated diseases since the onset of the epidemic. People living with HIV die of tuberculosis, cancers, hepatitis… Meanwhile, there is no data on how many lives are lost to stigma. Today stigma is the strongest barrier for testing among those who are not aware of their status and for receiving services among people living with HIV.
