Today, on World AIDS Day, the whole world is talking about those on the front lines of the fight against the epidemic. “Let communities lead!” is the theme announced by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for December 1 this year
There are no people more motivated to stop the HIV epidemic than those who experience it directly. “Nothing for us without us” is the slogan and principle that has long underpinned the global response to the spread of HIV.
There are 39 million people living with HIV worldwide (UNAIDS data for 2022), of which 2 million people are in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). UNAIDS notes that the number of new HIV cases continues to rise sharply in our region (increasing by 49% since 2010). This is primarily due to insufficient HIV prevention services for key populations, and barriers resulting from punitive laws and social discrimination.
ECOM has been working to develop communities in the EECA region for many years. We currently provide expert and technical assistance not only to representatives of the LGBT community, but also to other groups vulnerable to HIV. We welcome the global consensus that communities play a key role in the fight against the HIV epidemic. Communities are the drivers of change and innovation, the bridges between patients and health care systems, the advocates for reform, and the fighters against stigma and discrimination.
In conjunction with World AIDS Day, ECOM has updated maps with the latest data on the HIV epidemic among gay and other MSM and trans people in EECA. They contain unique statistics for the region on LGBT people and the HIV epidemic.
We are extremely concerned that the EECA region remains one of the few where the HIV epidemic continues to accelerate. Moreover, the number of new cases of HIV infection is growing exclusively among key populations, including gay and other MSM, and trans people. This poses significant challenges for the region to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
We are grateful to all ECOM members, partners, regional communities and donors for the achievements that exist in the region today: testing and treatment programs, the expansion of innovative approaches, including pre-exposure prophylaxis, rights advocacy, and legislative reform.
“Despite the numerous challenges our region has faced over the past few years: the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, which caused large migration waves, and stricter legislation in the area of freedoms and human rights, it is communities that shape the sustainability of the response to HIV in the region. We, as a regional coalition, call on all platforms to listen, hear and rely on communities when planning and implementing programs,” says Vitaly Djuma, ECOM’s Executive Director, “The latest UNAIDS report emphasizes that ending the AIDS epidemic is a political and financial choice, and that countries and leaders already on this path are achieving extraordinary results. We at ECOM emphasize that communities must be at the center of this choice.”
We call on all partners and donors to work even harder to increase funding for communities, expand prevention programs and advocate for antidiscrimination laws in the region
“Let communities lead!” Today, thanks to the coordinated work and contribution of each community, in the countries where ECOM member organizations operate, people have someone to turn to for support and assistance in matters related to HIV.
We agree with UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima: “To follow the path that ends AIDS, the world needs to let communities lead.”
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