Since the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has claimed 22 million lives and infected over 60 million persons over the world. According to AIDS Epidemic Update by UNAIDS/WHO from 2005 as many as 500,000 Ukrainians may already be living with HIV/AIDS. With prevalence approaching 1,4 % among those aged 15-49, Ukraine has the highest rate of infection in Europe and the CIS.

However, the worldwide AIDS epidemic - one that has already spread further, faster and to more devastating effect than any other in human history – cannot be considered only in the realm of public health. The destruction of the pandemic is fueled by HIV/AIDS related discrimination and a wide range of other human rights violations. The response of the civil society as a whole and of every single person is needed in order to fight the epidemic. The destruction of the pandemic is fueled by HIV/AIDS related discrimination and a wide range of other human rights violations. The response of the civil society as a whole and of every single person is needed in order to fight the epidemic.

Stigma and discrimination

Public attitudes towards HIV/AIDS and the people personally affected by it are one of the largest obstacles to fighting the epidemic in any country, both in Ukraine and beyond. People living with HIV/AIDS face many kinds of discrimination when their status becomes public: isolation and ostracism from family and friends; dismissal from a job, or conditions that force them to leave their work; discrimination by neighbors, including demands to move.

Rights abuses fuel AIDS

Human rights violations add further to the stigmatization of persons at highest risk of infection and thus marginalize and drive underground those who need information, preventive services, and treatment most desperately. Stigma is also the most likely factor in both the low number of officially registered HIV/AIDS cases.

Human rights approach to fighting HIV/AIDS

Human rights are fundamental to any response to HIV/AIDS. The promotion and protection of human rights are necessary to empower individuals and communities to respond to HIV/AIDS, to reduce vulnerability to HIV infection and to lessen the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS on those affected. When human rights are protected, CSOs working on HIV/AIDS are able to respond to the pandemic more effectively, fewer people become infected, and PLWH and their communities can better cope with the disease. Without a focus on human rights, many investments in HIV/AIDS programs and policies are doomed to fail.

UCAN’s HIV/AIDS Initiative

UCAN assistance was targeted specifically to work in USAID’s eight identified high-risk Ukrainian Oblasts (Cherkasy, Crimea, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolayiv and Odessa). The goal of the project is to work with HIV/AIDS CSOs as well as other CSOs not traditionally involved in HIV/AIDS work but who may be supportive of program efforts (e.g., youth-oriented or community development-oriented CSOs) to reduce stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS.

In the course of the project UCAN worked on accomplishing the following primary objectives:

o Build the capacity of Ukrainian CSOs working on HIV/AIDS through grant support for results-oriented advocacy activities and through a “menu” of services currently offered to UCAN grantees (training, networking, outreach support);

o Strengthen networks of HIV/AIDS CSOs at the regional level by working through national level implementing partners;

o Facilitate the integration of HIV/AIDS CSOs into the larger CSO community, particularly among CSOs working on anti-discrimination activities;

o Support existing efforts to effect legislative change;

o Promote greater awareness of the rights of people with HIV/AIDS among those suffering from the disease, caregivers and the general public.


Grants
UCAN has established an efficient, transparent, and trusted grant making system for supporting civil society organizations in Ukraine. Our strategy of focusing on projects that achieve concrete and meaningful results has proven effective both for advancing advocacy and citizen activism in Ukraine, and for strengthening organizations to play a more effective role in representing constituent interests. Through UCAN’s HIV/AIDS program, this approach was specifically applied to CSOs working to reduce the level of stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS. As with the overall UCAN program, the approach was anchored in building technical, advocacy, and organizational skills through the implementation of projects which achieved specific, concrete results.

Implementing Partner Grants
UCAN’s Implementing Partners (IPs) were strong Ukrainian CSOs working with the project directly to undertake programs central to UCAN’s mission in Ukraine.
 Anti-Discrimination Legislation Advocacy Program
Implementer: All-Ukrainian Charitable Fund: Coalition of HIV/AIDS Service NGOs (Coalition)
UCAN’s work with the Coalition has focused on the development of an innovative approach to advocating for the adoption of a national-level anti-discrimination law that will serve to protect the rights of PLWHA and their families.
The discrimination faced by PLWHA must be seen as a larger human rights issue and a comprehensive law that identifies and prohibits discrimination of any kind will better serve the interests of this particular target group as well as those of other marginalized groups throughout Ukraine. By now the draft law has been developed and submitted to the Parliament. Once the Parliament starts working, the draft law will be discussed and voted on.

Public Outreach Campaign
Implementer: Transatlantic Partnership against HIV/AIDS (TPAA)
TPAA, one of the leading organizations addressing HIV/AIDS in Ukraine and committed to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS, reaching out to rural areas focusing on reducing stigma and discrimination in sectors in which there is a high incidence of such behavior, such as in educational institutions, among health care providers, and within the work place.
As a final result, one may see changes in the journalists’ attitude and their manner of writing – it’s not 100% tolerant yet but still the journalists are already avoiding discriminating phrases. In the frames of the education campaign the organization developed and disseminated 1.900 posters, 1.900 brochures, and 4.300 flyers targeted at forming tolerant attitude to PLWHA.

Advocacy Partner Grants
Advocacy Partner grants formed the core of UCAN’s approach to building strong advocacy capacity across the country by developing a cadre of CSOs that were in a position to advocate for and achieve important near-term changes, to set standards for advocacy in Ukraine, and to lead the sector.

o Dnipropetrovs’k youth organization "Anti AIDS" developed and implemented a training program for municipal, oblast and regional officials focused on the issue of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. The organization came up with the methodic recommendations on the issue: “Effectiveness of the governmental policy in HIV/AIDS sphere: regional dimension.”

o Cherkasy Coalition of Youth Civil Society Organizations "Young Cherkashchyna" developed a public initiative on protecting the rights of HIV positive people in five regional cities. One of the campaign’s results is the instruction “If there is a special child in class” developed by the group and adopted by the Regional Department of Education.

o Odessa Regional Charity Foundation "Future without AIDS" trained 200 journalists in 24 rural rayons of Odessa oblast in order to encourage accurate reporting on HIV/AIDS issues and raise public awareness of stigma and discrimination.

o Mykolayiv Regional Office of the "Ukrainian Network of People Live with HIV/AIDS" monitored rights’ violations in the Mykolayiv oblast, provided legal consultations through a telephone consultation line, set up three information and consultation centers, and created an efficient mechanism for responding to human rights violations.

o Kherson Centre for Youth Initiatives "Totem" promoted the improvement of the
awareness of HIV/AIDS problem, decrease of the level of stigma and discrimination associated
with HIV/AIDS among students of the city, and among the convicted of two colonies.

o Ukrainian Charity Foundation "Vira. Nadia. Lubov" provided 349 priests from rural areas with trainings in order to reduce stigma and discrimination by ensuring the spread of accurate information regarding HIV/AIDS and those living with the disease. Activists of the organization have also worked with rural youth.

o Donetsk Civic Organization "Alliance" organized education campaign for medical workers, government officials, journalists, NGOs, representatives of big enterprises of Donetsk oblast with one purpose – to provide participants with the right information about HIV/AIDS and promote forming of a tolerant attitude.

Innovation Fund Grants - 2006

o Charitable organization “Club “Svitanok” (Donetsk) seeked to reduce discrimination against HIV+ women in prison or released from prison; held educational campaign for female prisoners and the prison’s staff, created self-support groups for female prisoners. The group promoted the publication of a manual containing methodic recommendations as to working in prisons and related to HIV/AIDS.
o Mykolayiv City Association "Time of Life” set up legal centers in 3 rayons of Mykolaiv oblast.
o “The Living Water” Charitable Foundation (Simferopol) created and distributed the musical on the basis of the art performance "Understand, Help and Support!" telling about lives of PLWHA and society’s negative stereotypes and biases towards them;

o Red Cross Society of Ukraine (Kyiv) undertook public outreach campaign; peer-to-peer sessions delivered by RC volunteers, face-to-face contacts with stigmatized group and their surrounding, consultations, care and support actions by RC visiting nurses involved in home-based care project jointly with the All-Ukrainian Network of PLWHA.

o Charitable Organization "Open Heart" (Kyiv) tried to bring the issue of HIV+ homeless children to the attention of public, authorities, and health service institutions; worked to increase confidence and awareness of the homeless children’s rights, decrease social tension.

World Bank/UCAN Micro-Grant Program
Support for Effective HIV/AIDS-Related Education

UCAN initiated a joint grant program in conjunction with the World Bank to support the development of innovative approaches by Ukrainian CSOs in HIV/AIDS-related education through both formal (the adoption of appropriate secondary school “healthy lifestyles” curricula), and informal (information campaigns and other awareness building activities that promote understanding of the disease among both teachers and students, and decrease stigma and discrimination suffered by children within educational establishments).

Rajgorodok village civil society organization "Success" (Rajgorodok village, Donetsk oblast) undertook a range of activities on the basis of school and with involvement of all social institutions of the village aimed at secondary school age students and their parents to deliver a strong health education/civil rights message to children.

Innovation Fund Grants – 2007

In the fall of 2006, UCAN announced a new round in the innovation funds program in support of UCAN’s HIV/AIDS Initiative. The innovation fund competition generated 25 proposals and the following 5 NGOs were awarded grants. Three out of these five are supported in partnership with ABA/CEELI.

• Donetsk City Charity Foundation “Dobrota” (“Kindness) aimed to educate NGOs of Donetsk region working in the sphere of HIV/AIDS about local fundraising, PR, advocacy, social advertising, and teaching their leaders to use business-tools in their activities.
• The Union of Entrepreneurs in Khrystynivka rayon (Cherkassy oblast) seeked to reduce stigma and discrimination by holding education campaign and information activities in schools of Khrystynivka rayon to promote the formation of students’ tolerant attitude towards HIV/AIDS, providing knowledge about the disease, building respect of human rights and freedoms.
• Non-government organization “Childhood - No AIDS”, (Kiev) developed an advocacy campaign targeted at correlating academic programs of the Law Academy by introducing to them sections related to legal protection and representation of PLWHA’s interests.
• Donetsk regional public center for sobriety and invigoration "Iskra" introduced qualitative and quantitative changes to the educational curriculum of Donetsk Law Institute of the Ministry of Interior related to advocating for PLWHA’s rights.
• NGO Kyiv School of Equal Opportunities aimed to reduce a high level of stigma and discrimination related to HIV/AIDS in Ukraine by working with youth in Kiev oblast to improve its understanding of HIV/AIDS issues.

Advocacy Institute (AI) Study Tour

For over 20 years, the Advocacy Institute in Washington D.C. www.advocacy.org has helped social justice leaders in the U.S. and abroad work more effectively for change through training in advocacy skills, networking with other activists, and one-on-one coaching.
In February, 2007 UCAN sent a group of 9 civic leaders working in the sphere of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine to participate in Advocacy Fellows Program. This trip turned out to be incredibly successful in building advocacy capacity and lasting working relationships among participants as well. Given the unique niche in which these leading CSOs were working and their ongoing interaction through other UCAN training and networking activities, the AI program was of tremendous value in forging lasting relationships and productive coalitions among organizations focused on fighting HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination in Ukraine.
In the course of the program civic leaders had a number of meetings with NGOs/FBOs and civic activists working on HIV/AIDS issues in the U.S.
The participants of the program spent two days on the Capitol Hill, meeting with congressmen’s staff and learning about the differences in Ukrainian and American systems, discussing a number of issues related to HIV/AIDS, NGOs’ work in this sphere and Congress’ perspective.
Besides the numerous meetings, the fellows attended intense classes to learn about human rights, rights based advocacy, planning advocacy, building citizen participation, critical moments, the political landscape and defining problems, prioritizing issues and mapping strategies, budget analysis and human rights, networks/coalitions, etc. – issues to be considered while planning advocacy campaign.
By the end of the 3 week program its participants have built their advocacy capacity through skill-building, reflective practice, and networking; learnt to facilitate the integration of human rights principles to support HIV/AIDS advocacy activities, and discovered strategies to help effect change that protects the rights of those living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS.