Lopatina Y, Żakowicz AM, Shabarova Z, Ford T, Fonseca FF, Odoke W, van den Hombergh J, Avelino-Silva VI, Benzaken AS, Miles RC. Safeguarding HIV prevention and care services amidst military conflict: experiences from Ukraine.
BMJ Glob Health 2023;
8:e014299. [PMID:
38148111 PMCID:
PMC10753732 DOI:
10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014299]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
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.
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