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Eastern Europe is a “perfect storm” for the spread of tuberculosis because it has high rates of incarceration, HIV infection, and injection drug use, and it has disintegrated healthcare systems, suboptimal TB diagnosis and treatment, and poor adherence rates. In addition, nearly half of all TB cases are multidrug-resistant, which requires longer, more expensive treatment than drug-susceptible TB, and leads to more adverse effects. Treatment is also less accessible in the region. And because rates of HIV infection are on the rise in Eastern Europe, where antiretroviral therapy coverage is low, the fast progression of immunosuppression leads to increases in the rate of TB and HIV coinfection.

While the adoption of previous EU drug strategies and action plans has been well covered by the media, now, two years after the great migration crisis and one year after the Brexit vote, almost nobody noticed the adoption of the new EU Action Plan on Drugs. There was no press conference or press release. It seems drug policy is not a priority for decision makers these days – there are other topics occupying public attention. It’s a shame, because this is the most progressive drug policy document the EU has ever adopted. It is most needed, at a time when European drug markets have been undergoing cataclysmic changes, with the emergence of new drugs and new risks which require new responses and interventions. 

Is Kazakhstan prepared for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)? Master student majoring in International Public Health at VU University in Amsterdam Marieke Bak was finding the answer to this question during her recent internship with AFEW International. For this reason, she spent five months in Almaty, Kazakhstan, doing her research.

The struggle against HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kyiv strengthened since the mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, signed the declaration in Paris. Apart from that, Kyiv was included into the Fast-Track Cities programme in April 2016 as a measure to fight AIDS. According to this programme, 90% of the citizens in 2020 should know about the disease, 90% of the infected ones should be getting treatment, and the treatment should be effective for 90% of the patients.

During the regional seminar-meeting held on 6-7 June in Almaty, Central Asian nongovernmental organizations established a network of partner organizations to address issues of labour migration and tuberculosis. The participants accepted draft Memorandum of cooperation between non-profit organizations to reduce the prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis among migrant workers in the countries of the region.

Last year a major event in the field of HIV in Russia became the adoption of the National strategies of counteraction with the spread of HIV-infection in the Russian Federation until 2020. One of the key objectives of the Strategy was the consolidation of efforts of governmental and nonprofit organizations in their fight against the epidemic. Today we discuss the implementation of this interaction in the most progressive city of Russia with the Deputy chief physician of St. Petersburg Center for prevention and control of AIDS and infectious diseases, holder of Doctoral degree in Medicine, third-generation doctor Tatiana Vinogradova.

Psychologists, social workers, medical personnel and other employees of four social bureaus in Ukraine gathered for the three-day training Conducting Voluntary Counselling and Testing on HIV with Rapid Tests that AFEW-Ukraine conducted on June 7-9. The training was held within the framework of the project ‘Bridging the Gaps: Health and Rights for Key Populations’ with the financial support of Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.