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. 2023 Dec 26;8(12):e014299.
doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014299.

Safeguarding HIV prevention and care services amidst military conflict: experiences from Ukraine

Yaroslava Lopatina  1 , Anna Maria Żakowicz  2 , Zoya Shabarova  2 , Terri Ford  3 , Fernanda F Fonseca  3 , Wilfred Odoke  3 , Jan van den Hombergh  3 , Vivian I Avelino-Silva  4   5 , Adele Schwartz Benzaken  3 , Ralph C Miles  3
Affiliations

Safeguarding HIV prevention and care services amidst military conflict: experiences from Ukraine

Yaroslava Lopatina et al. BMJ Glob Health. .

Abstract

Ukraine stands out among European countries concerning HIV epidemiological data. Since February 2022, the military conflict with Russian forces has posed unprecedented challenges to HIV prevention and care. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a global non-profit organisation with operations in Ukraine since 2009, implemented a preparedness plan to protect staff members and support local facilities in the continuity of care throughout the war. In this manuscript, we describe the strategies adopted by AHF to anticipate the risk of military conflict, steps to implement a preparedness plan, main challenges faced by local staff members and managers, adaptations needed as the conflict evolved, and indicators of HIV care 1 year before and 1 year after the onset of the conflict. Our experience shows that safeguarding the organisation's human resources has been a prerequisite to sustain services throughout the war.

Keywords: HIV; control strategies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regions with AHF services in Ukraine in September 2023. Image produced by the authors using ArcGIS (V.10.8, Esri, USA). AHF, AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Examples of supplies purchased for AHF employees. Photo by Ralph C. Miles. AHF, AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Signs of spring coming up among the glass chards in Kyiv. Photo by Terri Ford.
Figure 4
Figure 4
AHF preparedness plan in Ukraine. Image produced by the authors using Canva Pro (V.3.0, Canva, Australia). AHF, AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
HIV prevention and care indicators before and after the conflict onset. Produced by the authors using Canva Pro (V.3.0, Canva, Australia). PLHIV, people living with HIV.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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