‘Dare to share care’ campaign launched to support HIV care in Ukraine

Europe is home to almost three million people living with HIV, with over 250,000 of those living in Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine and the armed conflict have threatened the care for those quarter of a million people.

Ukraine bears the second largest HIV epidemic in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. As of 2019 there were an estimated 250,077 people living with HIV in the country with 16,405 new diagnoses that year alone. Only 54% of people living with HIV in Ukraine had access to HIV treatment, and only 51% of people living with HIV in the country were undetectable.

The Young Investigators (YING) in partnership with the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) and the Erasmus MC Foundation have launched a campaign to get HIV antiretrovirals to the people of Ukraine at this most difficult of times.

‘Through the Young Investigators (YING) of the European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS), we specialists from across Europe are united with each other. The war in Ukraine endangers the care of people living with HIV and the HIV care providers there on the ground, including our own YING colleagues.’

The ‘Dare to share’ campaign, as part of aware.hiv, is asking medical professionals to donate medicines and medical supplies and the wider public to donate money to the Erasmus MC Foundation who, along with EACS, will ensure the medicines and supplies get to the right place. All donations will be tracked and fully transparent in order to ensure accountability.

aware.HIV is asking people to use the hashtags #awarehivukraine #aware.hiv and #daretosharecare when sharing and talking about the campaign online.

Find out more here: https://awarehiv.com/en/Dare-to-Share-Care/Ukraine