To register for the 22nd International AIDS Conference with the standard fee is possible before May 18. After this date, the registration will be possible only with the higher fee. Deadline to submit a visa application and to request a Letter of Invitation is June 1.
Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV cause significant suffering in Europe. It is estimated that 27,000 patients have both diseases. The distribution of co-infected patients is heterogeneous in Europe. Collaborative activities are needed to take the best care of those with TB/HIV co-infection. This is the background information of the survey on collaborative TB/HIV activities in countries of the WHO European Region created by the Wolfheze working group on collaborative TB/HIV activities.
A landmark judgment allowing an official registration of Georgian Network of People Who Use Drugs for Human Drug Policy (GeNPUD) was delivered on March 26, 2018, by Tbilisi City Court Judge Tamar Chuniashvili. The lawsuit was prepared on behalf of GeNPUD after the network was refused official state registration as stated in LEPL National Agency of Public Registry’s decision. The rejection of registration was based on the “name issue.” Public Registry references the law which says that the name of GeNPUD (any kind of drug users’ organizing assembly) seemed to be an attempt “to put the illegal activities in the legal framework” and is misleading the entire society. GeNPUD is disagreeing saying that this is the violation of the community’s fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention.
Author: Nargis Harambaeva, Tajikistan Umed Boev, age 41, an ex-prisoner from Tajik town of Bokhtar advocates healthy lifestyle
The Project to create the 100 Percent Life network of clinics is a challenge for the Charitable Organisation All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. It is considered to be the largest patient organization throughout the former Soviet Union. During the past several years, modern medical centres accessible for all patients have been opened in each region of Ukraine. Medical centres will provide treatment and social support to those frequently dealing with discrimination at regular hospitals: people living with HIV, representatives of key risk groups. HIV-positive patients will receive services free of charge, clients, in general, will receive them at below-market prices.
People in prison have higher rates of drug use and injecting than the general population, and people with drug-related problems make up a significant proportion of people in prison. Among high-risk drug users in the community, many will have repeat experience of prison. The likelihood of having contracted an infectious disease is higher among high-risk drug users with a prison history than among those who have never been incarcerated, and the risk of overdose death in the immediate period after release from prison is high. Such were the talks during the World Health Organization (WHO) international meeting on prisons and health, held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 11–12 December 2017.
Our meeting with David Ananiashvili was appointed in a green courtyard of the Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Centre. The Centre is located in an old building in one of the central districts of Tbilisi, Georgia. The authorities have been promising a new working space for the centre since long ago, but so far there has been no progress in this process. However, David feels at home – he knows every corner here. He was one of the first people in Georgia who publicly spoke about their HIV status. David is the head of the Georgian Plus Group NGO. Since 2000, the NGO has been implementing various projects to protect the rights of people living with HIV and standing up to stigma and discrimination.
For almost a year and a half, law enforcement agencies have been persecuting sex workers in Kyrgyzstan. During this period, the number of sex workers receiving HIV prevention services in some regions of the country reduced twice. Civil society organisations registered up to 475 cases of sex workers’ rights violations by the police every year.
In 2004, Georgia became the first and only country in the Eastern European region that succeeded in ensuring universal coverage by antiretroviral therapy (ART). The government funds treatment with first-generation medication, the rest is funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Treatment and testing are free of charge, and if a person seeks assistance at the appropriate time, the assistance is sure to be provided. When observing the dynamics of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Georgia in the past years, positive changes are noticeable right away. Life expectancy and quality have significantly improved in many patients. However, notwithstanding evident achievements in overcoming HIV/AIDS epidemic, the low HIV detection level remains to be the main problem.
As you might know from previous conferences, traditionally there will be a march or demonstration of HIV and AIDS activists. This year the march will take place just before the official opening of the conference at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre in the afternoon of Monday, 23rd of July 2018. With this email we would like to introduce us to you and ask you to join us in the march/demonstration to raise our voices for and with people living with HIV. We are aware that we might be a little ahead of time. But it gives us together with you more time to activate more people and to organise a good march in cooperation with the local authorities. Please forward this email to more organisations, people, living with HIV or relatives and friends you know and who might like to become part or support the march.
