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 is 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.

To reach this goal, UCAN focuses on achieving the following primary objectives:

• 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);
• Strengthen networks of HIV/AIDS CSOs at the regional level by working through national level implementing partners;
• Facilitate the integration of HIV/AIDS CSOs into the larger CSO community, particularly among CSOs working on anti-discrimination activities;
• Support existing efforts to effect legislative change;
• Promote greater awareness of the rights of people with HIV/AIDS among those suffering from the disease, caregivers and the general public.

HIV/AIDS Initiative Program Components

Implementing Partner Grants

UCAN’s Implementing Partners (IPs) are strong Ukrainian CSOs that work 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) www.ngo.aids.ua

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. The Coalition activities within the scope of this activity commenced since early March, 2006.

Until recently, various groups that currently experience some level of discrimination within Ukrainian society have approached national-level, legislative change-oriented advocacy campaigns on an individual basis. This approach has largely proved unsuccessful in that these groups frequently become further marginalized and isolated from mainstream society due to the emphasis such campaigns place on their unique situation. In addition, while some groups become the subject of public attention with regards to the discrimination they face, others are entirely left out of the public discourse.

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. In formalizing a broad and powerful network of CSO’s representing different constituencies that currently suffer from discrimination, this program will facilitate the high quality public education activities and targeted advocacy efforts required to make comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation a reality in Ukraine.

Micro-Grant Program
Implementer: ISAR-Ednania www.ednannia.kiev.ua

Over the past years, ISAR-Ednania has worked with UCAN to bring a greater level of professionalism to nascent, less developed organizations. In support of UCAN’s HIV/AIDS Initiative, ISAR-Ednania provided small grants of up to $4,000 to support advocacy projects proposed by newer and less developed civil society organizations. Grant will fund activities that promote tolerance, reduce negative stereotypes, and reduce HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. In March 2006 ISAR-Ednania awarded 14 anti-stigma and discrimination micro-grants.

Advocacy Partner Grants

Advocacy Partner grants form the core of UCAN’s approach to building strong advocacy capacity across the country by developing a cadre of CSOs that are in a position to advocate for and achieve important near-term changes, to set standards for advocacy in Ukraine, and to lead the sector. A targeted competition has generated almost 60 proposals from CSOs operating in USAID’s eight high-risk regions.

10 grants were awarded in April 2006 to fund the activities of the following organizations:

• Dnipropetrovs’k youth organization "Anti AIDS" - for Children of Ukraine"
• Coalition of youth civil society organizations of Cherkasy region "Young Cherkashchyna"
• Odessa Regional Charity Foundation "Future without AIDS"
• Mykolayiv City Association "Time of Life"
• Centre for Youth Initiatives "Totem" Kherson
• Mykolayiv Regional Department of "Ukrainian Network of People Livving with HIV/AIDS"
• Ukrainian Charity Foundation "Vira. Nadia. Lubov"
• The All-Ukrainian Charity Organization "Community Council for Social Development of Young Generation" Kyiv
• Odessa Youth Organization "Mutual Aid Club LIFE"
• Donets`k Civic Organization "Alliance"

Innovation Fund Grants

UCAN’s Innovation Fund is our most flexible and responsive grant mechanism, providing funds to smaller projects (up to $10,000) and to organizations with an unusual opportunity to make a difference that far exceeds the scale of the grant. These grants provide a good opportunity for less experienced CSOs to manage smaller projects, such as hotlines or the provision of information about the individual rights of those with HIV/AIDS. Working with Implementing Partners (IPs), UCAN conducts targeted outreach to encourage innovative proposals.

Innovation Fund Grants competition was announced in May 2006 in partnership with the American Bar Association / Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI). UCAN/ABA-CEELI announced the winners twice, in August and October of 2006.

12 grants were awarded by UCAN including 3 organizations with ABA/CEELI co-funding in 2006 to fund the activities of the following organizations:

• Mykolayiv City Association of HIV-positive People "Chas Zhyttya" – project “Mykolayiv regional centre for the protection of the rights and interests of people living with HIV/AIDS in Mykolayiv, Pervomaisk and Voznesensk”
• Ukrainian Red Cross Society- project “Reducing the discrimination level towards PLWHA through information sharing, consulting and campaign in media”
• Charity organization "Club "Svitanok"- project “You are not alone”
• The living water Charitable Foundation – project “Creative youth for reducing stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS”
• All-Ukrainian Youth NGO "Molod Mozhe"- project “Start point. Changes start with you!”
• Charitable Organization "Open Heart"- project “Street children and HIV/AIDS”
• NGO Kyiv School of Equal Opportunities – project “They live among us”
• Donetsk regional public center for sobriety and invigoration "Iskra" – project “Innovative educational programs for students of Juridical Universities”
• Non-government organization «Childhood - No AIDS» - project “School of conscious protection”
• The Union of Entrepreneurs in Khrystynivka district – project “Through the education and understanding to self esteem and respect”
• Donetsk City Charity Foundation “Dobrota – project “The social marketing for the organizations working with HIV/AIDS epidemic”

World Bank/UCAN Micro-Grant Program: Support for Effective HIV/AIDS-Related Education www.worldbank.org.ua

UCAN has initiated a joint grant program in conjunction with the World Bank which will 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). The Winner was announced in May 2006:

• Civil Society Organization “Success”, Rayhorodok, Donetsk obl. – project “Creation of healthy environment for teenagers and youth in Rayhorodok”

Capacity Building Training

UCAN’s innovative, results focused will directly impact the ability of CSOs to advance initiatives on behalf of those with HIV/AIDS, to more effectively advocate for their rights and affect positive change in their communities. The curricula based on CSO needs assessments and surveys of demand includes: advocacy, organizational self-assessment, strategic project management, leadership, message development, financial management, and good governance.

Advocacy Institute (AI) Study Tour

For over 20 years, the Advocacy Institute www.advocacy.org in Washington D.C. 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. The institute helps organizations to plan and implement successful advocacy campaigns, manage and evaluate coalitions, develop effective messaging for the media and key stakeholders, build effective organizations, and ensure victories can be sustained in the long-run. In February of 2007 UCAN sent a group of 9 civic leaders working in the sphere of HIV/AIDS in Ukraine to participate in Advocacy Fellows program.