News

Over 250 thousand HIV tests will be done in Kyiv allowing to cover 10% of the employable population of the Ukrainian capital. Nikolay Povoroznik, the Deputy Head of Kyiv City State Administration, informed UNIAN Information Agency that in order to reach these numbers, city authorities will additionally procure 140 thousand express tests. HIV testing is the first step towards overcoming the epidemic because information about one’s positive status allows the timely start of treatment for the patient.

Several more cities in Tajikistan – Dushanbe, Kulob and Khujand – opened their first voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) points in three civil society organisations – Vita, SVON Plus and Amali Nek. Opening the VCT points, training the medical staff, renovating the premises and procuring the necessary furniture and equipment became possible thanks to the Bridging the Gaps: Health and Rights for Key Populations project and consultations with the AFEW-Tajikistan specialists.

This year, the issue of treatment coverage for people living with HIV has been broadly discussed in Russia on World AIDS Day. We are talking on this topic with Vinay Patrick Saldanha, Director, Regional Support Team for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, UNAIDS.

The UNAIDS 90-90-90 target, stipulating that 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression, was the key issue brought up at the National Conference dedicated to the World AIDS Day in Tbilisi. The conference motto was ‘Test All, Treat All, End the AIDS Epidemic in Georgia!’ Conference participants signed the Declaration ‘End the AIDS Epidemic in Georgia.’ The Declaration is a summary of the key effective measures to be taken to curb the AIDS epidemic in the country.

United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) Michel Kazatchkine was recently announced