Aids Action and Integration (AAI) 2005-2008
The integration projects are designed to promote the development of local, community based action on HIV/AIDS in Central and Eastern Europe.
Summary
The integration projects are designed to promote the development of local, community based action on HIV/AIDS in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the new and future member-states of the European Union. The ARV4IDU seminar and follow-up paper are one of 9 best practice activities to be implemented as part of the AIDS ACTION & INTEGRATION Projects (www.integration-projects.org).
All over the world, successful programs demonstrate that evidence-based HIV interventions can be crucial for helping people who use drugs gain access to medical services. However, wide-spread misunderstandings by policy makers and health professionals about essential methods for helping injecting drug users (IDUs) still remain controversial. In spite of data showing that drug users receive the same benefits from HIV treatment as other patients and achieve high levels of adherence when offered appropriate social and medical support, IDUs in the region often lack treatment to treatment. Based on previous experience from the regions, building equal access to HIV prevention and treatment requires advocacy, training and technical assistance. Acknowledging the problem, The European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), together with the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN, formerly Central and Eastern European Harm Redcution Network), organized a workshop on HIV treatment for people who use drugs.
As a follow-up of the workshop (November 24-25 2007, Vilnius) situation assessment paper was developed. The paper gives an overview of the issues regarding access to ART for PLHA/IDU’s, including best practises that are relevant in the Eastern European and Central Asian region where HIV is on the rise amongst IDU’s.
Besides the ARV4IDU activities, the EATG is part of the AAI steering committee and contributed to the programme of other AAI activities, such as the Aids&Youth Conference in Romania, Buckarest, June 2008.
Partner
EC/DG Sanco co-funding
Lead partner - AIDES, France
Collaborating partners - Eurasian Harm Reduction Network-EHRN, (Lithuania), ARAS (Bulgaria), DiaLogs (Latvia), Czech Aids Society (Czech Republic), Baz z Nami (Poland), SOAAIDS (Netherlands)
What
Situation assessment paper on issues regarding access to ART for PLHA/IDU’s, English and Russian version
Translation of the Manual for HIV Advocates into 6 languages (Bulgarian, Romanian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, Czech)
Seminar ‘ARV4IDU’ on access to treatment, harm reduction and access to ART regarding IDU’s in Vilnius, November 24-25 2007
Seminar on treatment in Prague, November 2006
Contact
EATG Secretariat - Ana Lúcia Cardoso
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