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Kyrgyzstan is gradually switching to state drug provision system. Some of the tuberculosis medicines will be purchased out of the budgetary funds this year, and some of antiretroviral medicines – starting from the next year. Respective financial resources are planned to be allocated in the budget. At the same time, the question regarding the national legislation remains. A number of important documents is currently under the review. We discussed how these documents consider patients’ needs as well as the results of the analysis regarding the availability of medicines for HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis treatment with Aibar Sultangaziev, the representative of public council at the Ministry of Health and the Director of the Partner Network Association.

The Fast Forward Award searches for ‘golden eggs’ – innovative interventions organised by and for the community. The awards aims to link these innovative local solutions with donors in order to increase funding for communities and scale up successful approaches.

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.

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.