National Platform for Key Communities established in Ukraine
On 11 and 12 December, representatives of four populations at higher risk of HIV infection—people who inject drugs, sex workers, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and former prisoners—gathered in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the legal formalization of the National Platform for Key Communities and to agree on key priorities for advocacy and on how the platform will be managed and operated, the UNAIDS reports.
The platform’s priorities will include influencing policies and decision-making processes, the development of a package of HIV prevention services that respond to the needs of key populations and responding to discrimination.
The participants decided on the positioning, role and contributions of the platform in the national AIDS response, the implementation of a Fast-Track strategy and the form of an HIV prevention 100 days of action campaign. They also enthusiastically welcomed continued Dutch, UNAIDS and civil society collaboration and agreed on a unified strategic vision for the participation of civil society and the platform in key events, including the International AIDS Conference, to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 2018.
The three key advocacy areas for the platform will be:
- The participation of communities in decision-making on health, an effective response to HIV and tuberculosis and the protection of human rights.
- The provision of access to services for key groups focused on the needs of communities that are implemented by the communities and funded by national and local budgets.
- The protection of rights and the prevention of discrimination.
“We will do our best to make the platform an effective advocacy instrument to help us to achieve our joint objectives and influence decision-making processes that affect our lives and health,” said Velta Parkhomenko from the National Platform for Key Communities.
