AFEW International has reached out to organizations and networks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia with the request to sign the support letter for re-appointment of Michel Kazatchkine as United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. His contract/mandate as UN special envoy on HIV/AIDS for Eastern Europe and Central Asia ends on 30 June.
Harm Reduction International’s data shows that since 2014, no new countries have established needle and syringe programmes (NSP) and just three have introduced opioid substitution therapy (OST). Of 158 countries where injecting drug use is reported, over half (78) do not offer OST and more than a third (68) still do not provide NSP. In 2015, a UN target to halve HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 2015 was missed by more than 80%.
Now more than ever, key at-risk populations need increased access to health services to combat the three epidemics of HIV, TB and viral hepatitis, something that was highlighted last year in the new World Health Organisation global health sector strategies on HIV and on viral hepatitis.
Last week the photo exhibition ‘Life in the Shadow’ was brought to the Netherlands by public Foundation ‘AIDS Foundation East-West in Kazakhstan.’ It was possible to see the images of people affected by HIV and tuberculosis during Wolfheze workshops in the Hague on 31 May – 2 June. The main goal of the exhibition is to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with HIV and tuberculosis.
At the end of March, the photo exhibition ‘Life in the Shadow’ dedicated to the World Tuberculosis Day took place in Almaty. AIDS Foundation East-West in Kazakhstan organized this event. The exhibition featured photos of people affected by HIV and tuberculosis. Today we will tell the stories of some of them.
AFEW International is taking part in 25th Harm Reduction International Conference that will take place in Montréal, Canada next week. AFEW’s executive director Anke van Dam and program director Janine Wildschut will take part in the side event on harm reduction.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new HIV prevention method that consists of a daily pill taken by HIV-negative people to reduce their risk of becoming infected with HIV. PrEP is highly effective in preventing HIV transmission, as scientific research shows.
AFEW International with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is announcing a Culture Fund for providing support to all sorts of cultural materials and exhibitions to address stigma and discrimination related to HIV, diversity and other related issues in general, and particularly in the EECA region.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can effectively prevent HIV when introduced in an enabling combination HIV prevention programme and chosen by people at high risk of infection. The integration of PrEP into public health programmes has been presented as an opportunity to strengthen HIV prevention for key populations when implemented in a context of linked action for human rights, supportive laws and violence prevention. PrEP is recommended as a choice for people who inject drugs by the American Centres for Disease control and in the recent WHO recommendation, but some critiques of the value and or effectiveness of PrEP for people who inject drugs are emerging, including from consultations with people who inject drugs.
The theme of World TB Day 2017 is “Unite to End TB.” AFEW International’s activities are also aimed on ending tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Kazakhstan, KNCV and AFEW-Kazakhstan are developing a model for structural collaboration between public health (TB, HIV, primary health care) and non-public sector through the DGIS-funded project in Almaty.
