Today, on Zero Discrimination Day, we reaffirm a fundamental truth: to protect everyone’s health, we must protect everyone’s rights. Discrimination and stigma prevent individuals from accessing essential healthcare, which puts entire communities at risk and deepens social inequities.
For 25 years, AFEW International has been working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) to promote inclusivity, break down barriers to healthcare, and advocate for the rights of underserved populations. Together with our partners in the region, we’ve implemented harm reduction programs that provide life-saving services to people who use drugs, HIV prevention, testing, and treatment initiatives for people living with HIV and other key populations, and support for migrants and refugees, ensuring they have access to vital healthcare and social services. Our programs have also addressed the needs of young people, women and other underserved groups, and our advocacy for human rights has contributed to creating inclusive policies within the countries we serve.
Through these efforts, AFEW International has supported hundreds of thousands of individuals, trained healthcare professionals, and strengthened civil society organizations, empowering them to continue this critical work.
Today, we remain committed to the health and rights of underserved populations. Our strategy is based on a people-centered, integrated model that places those with the highest health risks at the center of our collective efforts. We continue to tackle the stigma, poverty, discrimination, and exclusion that drive health and social inequalities, while working towards better-coordinated, country-specific, and community-led responses across the EECA region.
These principles remain at the core of AFEW International’s strategic mission: to build a world where underserved populations have access to healthcare without stigma or discrimination, and where no one is left behind. No discrimination!
Team of AFEW International
