Results for the year 2013

Significant results have been obtained for the first year of implementing the Program of technical aid to the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia on prophylaxis, control and management of AIDS / HIV and other infectious diseases.

National and industry-specific documents, training to industry professionals and the launch of electronic epidemiological surveillance systems

RESULTS FOR THE COMPONENT A:

Improvements to the epidemiological surveillance system for HIV, STIs and viral hepatitis with a special focus on hard-to-reach population groups. The following results have been obtained with the help of UNAIDS:

Armenia: 15 national documents and educational materials on laboratory diagnostics and epidemiologic control of HIV and viral hepatitis, were developed due to the expert support provided by the Russian specialists from the Pasteur Institute (St Petersburg).

Kyrgyzstan: a new online course on epidemiologic HIV controls was introduced for healthcare professionals, new injunctions by the Ministry of Healthcare on HIV controls and early HIV diagnostics were developed and 28 standard operational procedures for laboratory diagnostics and epidemiologic control for HIV were finalized.

Tajikistan: aid was provided to the launch of an electronic HIV epidemiologic surveillance system (already covers 20% of the country). 30 senior epidemiologists and infectiologists were trained and a seminar was conducted with the experts from the Russian Federal AIDS Center.

Uzbekistan: Four working groups were established to draft new national protocols and instructions on HIV treatment and early HIV diagnostics in children and to provide a wide-scale assistance in training epidemiologists, infectiologists and lab experts.

Development of guidelines, studies, training materials and seminars

RESULTS FOR THE COMPONENT B:

Development of prophylaxis and control measures for infectious diseases, including AIDS/HIV, STDs and hepatitis in women and children. The following results have been obtained with the help of UNAIDS:

Armenia: New national guidelines on preventing PMTCT and providing pediatric care to HIV positive children were developed. A national training was conducted with the Russian PMTCT specialists from the Academic and Research Center for Preventing HIV in Pregnant and Children (St Petersburg, Russia).

Kyrgyzstan: A complex study on inflectional controls in maternity hospitals and pediatric healthcare institutions was carried out. 30 specialists for early HIV diagnostics in newborns using Dry Drop Method were trained and multidisciplinary teams were set up to organize for training on treatment and managing care for PLHAs.

Tajikistan: new training materials on PMTCT and pediatric care were created with the help of Russian specialists. Technical documents and information materials on PMTCT prevention and pediatric care were translated into Russian and Tajik 40,000 rapid HIV tests were purchased for the pregnant. New guidelines on PMTCT prevention and pediatric across 36 healthcare institutions were planned for introduction.

Uzbekistan: 5 training seminars on improving healthcare services to PLHAs were conducted for the professionals from the national AIDS centers and Tashkent STI clinics. Assistance was rendered to organizing a national seminar for adolescents living with HIV. 10,000 tests for the Republican AIDS Center and Tashkent STI clinics were purchased. Access to voluntary HIV testing and consulting was improved.

Evaluation of the situation, design of action plans and their implementation in the countries

RESULTS FOR THE COMPONENT C:

Fine-tuning of the prophylaxis system for AIDS/HIV, STIs and hepatitis amongst high risk groups, including prophylaxis across immigrants.

Together with UNAIDS and national partners AIDS Infoshare evaluated the situation in the four regions stated above and designed action plans which were then approved by the national authorities of the Member Countries. The action plans touched upon improvements in epidemiologic systems to manage HIV, STIs and hepatitis (with a special focus on hard-to-reach population), development of prophylactic activities and controls over infectious diseases, including HIV, STIs and hepatitis in women and children as well as improvements to the prophylactic systems for AIDS / HIV STIs and hepatitis across high-risk groups, including immigrants.

Renovation, modernization and the launch of the National Training and Resource Center in Armenia

Amongst the activities carried out by AIDS Infoshare in 2013 in Armenia a special significance goes to the renovations and modernization carried out for the National Training and Resource Center at the Republican AIDS Center (its opening ceremony took place on January 10, 2013, with the participation of the representatives from the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Armenia). Other activities included a mass-scale prophylactic outreach work and tests to labor immigrants and their families in small towns and rural areas in 6 regions of Armenia, which covered 25 localities and 3,000 people from these groups. Moreover, 100 professionals were trained within the scope of this project.

Mobile Clinic in Tajikistan and informational materials

With the participation of AIDS Infoshare, the Russian Federation gratuitously transferred a diagnostic and treatment center to the Department of Health of the Khatlon region. The clinic was based in a KAMAZ truck equipped with modern medical and diagnostic equipment, Russian test systems, pharmaceuticals and other medical items to ensure uninterrupted services till the end of 2015. AIDS Infoshare organized for the training of specialists and providing medical services to the population as well as carried out prophylactic and educational work with the risk groups. The clinic extends its services to the most distant and hard-to-reach areas of the Khatlon region and provides services to over 100 patients per day. The undertaking has helped to reach out to 15 districts and provide medical aid to 7,603 citizens of whom 707 were tested for HIV/AIDS, 606 for syphilis, 293 for Hepatitis B, 362 for Hepatitis C and 238 for tuberculosis. All the disease-positive patients were directed for additional tests to phthisiologists, dermatologists, venereologists and GPs in the corresponding local medical institutions. HIV-positive patients were directed for further examinations and treatment to the AIDS Center in the Khalton Region and the Republican AIDS center.

To extensively test high-risk groups within the population for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, Russian high quality test systems were purchased and then transferred to health authorities in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as humanitarian aid.

AIDS Infoshare designed and translated into the languages of the member countries informational materials on prophylaxis and healthy lifestyle as well as materials on legal aspects for getting healthcare aid by foreign citizens in the Russian Federation, and then organized for their targeted distribution. The activities conducted by the NGO helped to strongly improve the routine epidemiological surveillance for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis amongst high-risk groups as well as regularly conduct integrated second-tier biological and behavioristic epidemiological surveillance within the countries, analyze the nature of epidemics and their trends.

The 4th Conference on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

To further implement the Program objectives, AIDS Inforshare is to organize and carry out in 2014 the 4th Conference on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia hosted in Moscow. It will be the largest regional forum on fighting infectious diseases attended by over 2,000 delegates from 50 countries. The activities are being implemented according to the timeline.

Program uniqueness

The Project is unique within its sphere since no similar programs have ever been conducted by the Russian Federation outside its territory. The Program is of high significance to ensure regional and global safety for it helps to establish efficient controls over the epidemiological situation and take timely prophylactic measures as well as provide timely medical aid to the population, especially to various high-risk groups such as immigrants, their families, injection drug users and others. It is one of the tools used to fight global threats, such as drug addiction, drug trafficking and illegal migration.

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