Ukraine Urged to Step Up AIDS Fight

The chief of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on Monday called for Ukraine to accelerate its efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. “This is the region of the world, the only region of the world, where the AIDS epidemic is still growing,” Michel Kazatchkine told reporters in Kiev. He urged authorities to increase funding for AIDS programs, expand opiate substitution therapy, and ensure HIV/AIDS treatment in correctional settings.

As part of a five-year, $305 million grant, the Global Fund is set to disburse $86 million in Ukraine in 2012-13; however, the fate of that grant was uncertain last year due to the government’s failure to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of HIV drugs.

Such treatment delays will not happen again, said Tetyana Aleksandrina, a government official involved with HIV/AIDS prevention.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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