Let’s face it, fight stigma and discrimination
On February 28, 2025, a meeting of national partners was formed in Kiev, dedicated to Ukraine’s participation in the Global Partnership against all forms of stigma and discrimination associated with HIV. Gaslo sustrichi – “2025: Shoulder-on-shoulder in the face of discrimination!”
Unruly organizations and powers confirmed today’s solidarity pact to combat stigma and discrimination in Ukraine. Our deepest interests are human rights and a belief in global health.
Today, Ukraine and the world are colliding in geopolitical battles. But in all areas we are aware that we are fighting for principles and values. Among the fundamental values for Ukraine, there are three axis, for which we are focused in this day: human rights and freedom, public health, respect for prosperity.
“The eradication of stigma and discrimination lies at the heart of the country’s efforts to promote public health. As a power in 2020, the Ministry of Health announced its readiness to join the Global Partnership to eradicate all forms of stigma and discrimination associated with HIV, and stated that we are putting emphasis on several areas – health protection, family welfare and communities, humanitarian and humanitarian situations, the sphere of access to justice. At the end of 2024, UNAIDS sent confirmation to Ukraine that our country has retained its status as a participant in the Global Partnership,” said the chief sanitary doctor, the intercessor of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Pan Igor Kuzin , having turned to the participants and participants of the meeting with a vital word.
“We have a key message on the global stage: stigma and discrimination are the consequences of the residual impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An effective response to the expansion of VIL may be based on secure zeal,” – this is the message of Mrs. Gabrieli Jonashka , head of the Representative Office of the United Nations Organization of the United Nations VIL/SNID (UNAIDS) in Ukraine.
“It’s better to understand, no matter what, what is stigma, what is discrimination, ” says Valeria Rachinska , director of human rights, gender and development of a good organization “100 hundred years of life.” “ It is our strength to stand not on the other side, but on the other side of the stigma, so that we are not embarrassed to experience this doubtful, often traumatic evidence especially on ourselves and our neighbors. Moreover, in 2017, our families together with a large number of international partners – regular and disorderly – raised the flag of the fight for the elimination of stigma and discrimination from our lives.”
Today there is a need to change the voice of these social groups so that they can take a course towards stigma and discrimination on the track of the Global Partnership: these are (1) people who live from HIV, women (1a) women and (1b) podlitki; (2) people who are addicted to drugs or psychoactive speech, drugs (2b) women; (3) people who have sexual relations with people (CHS, then we are gays, bisexuals); (4) people who sell sex services; (5) people who are tormented in the rules of Viconn punishment and the former punishment, those people who were recently released from the rules of Viconn punishment; (6) trans people.
“Until now, the Global Partnership track has been slashed. Ukraine has something to boast about: we have begun to develop a stigma index across various social groups, and these data form the basis of our advocacy. We are quite successfully, although not without difficulty, passing legal initiatives on the legislative level. Today, the parliament is considering a legislative initiative for the decriminalization of HIV infection, which clearly reflects the philosophy of the Global Partnership. We kindly remove stigmatizing vocabulary from our lives, and we are always visible to them: like strength – before the state and marriage; as a power – in the international arena; Like disorderly organizations, decisions are made by the masterminds,” comments Valeriya Rachinska, a representative of the BO “100 Hundreds of Lives”, on the development of the Global Partnership in Ukraine .
“Today, before the attention of global partners, we requested the basic methodological document of the Global Partnership – this is the name of the checklist, which should be shown to the international world, to the extent that the system has been activated in our country implementation of the Global Partnership. We hope that today we have the key evidence from you, so that tomorrow the world will know about our work,” – like the leader of the United Wives of Ukraine, which was affected by the HIV epidemic, “Positive Wives” Mrs. Olena Strizhak , who is also the head of the thematic subgroup of the Global Partnership, established under the umbrella of the Center for Community Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
“The United Nations HIV/AIDS program (UNAIDS) in Ukraine will be deprived of being a technical partner of the country and a huge partner in the implementation of the Global Partnership. We are glad that for our initiative and for the kind cooperation of the Secretariat of the National Nutrition for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS today, we are meeting with national partners such a constructive and physically warm atmosphere,” said Ms. Natalia Salabay , UNAIDS Ukraine Office Manager for the promotion of equality and rights for all.
As a result of ground-level evidence from the collaboration of national partners, there were such notable features in the sphere of the national variant for the expansion of VIL, as a representative of the last Krill BO “100” “Hundreds of Life” by Mrs. Tetyana Sosidko – from a look at the results and trends of the remaining trend in the index of stigma of people how to live from VIL, carried out at the end of 2023 – at the beginning of 2024; Head of the Department of Scientific Research at the Center for Community Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Mrs. Olena Nesterova – from a forward glance, the development of stigma and discrimination for emergency situations and transgender people based on the results of the remaining rounds bio-behavioral investigations; representative of the council of those convicted and released from the place of liberation at the warehouse of the National Anti-TB/VIL, head of the governing beneficial organization “VILNA ZONE” Mr. Oleksiy Zagrebelny — looking at the issue of stigma and discrimination among the key group represented; Head of Project Management and International Cooperation at the Center for Community Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Sergiy Mironyuk – with a view to the national coordination mechanism of the Global Partnership; national consultant on monitoring Ukraine’s challenges within the framework of the Global Partnership Svyatoslav Sheremet – from the report on the roads of Ukraine to the still unattainable achievement of target indicators 10–10–10 This is consistent with the Global Strategy from the SNID for 2021–2026.
“The axis of the whole “tens” for the region and the world, ” says expert Svyatoslav Sheremet : first of all, stigma and discrimination may reach less than 10% of the number of people who live from the VIL and people from key groups; In other words, gender inequality and violence, including gender awareness, may fall to less than 10% of the number of women and girls, people who live in the UK, and people from key population groups; Thirdly, less than 10% of countries may lose punitive legislation and discriminatory policies or have access to justice.”
“Further implementation of the goals of the Global Partnership in Ukraine by 2025 will continue with the focus of the National Respect for Nutrition against tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Today, the implementation and monitoring of the Global Partnership has been advanced to the National Development Plan for 2025,” the representative of the National Development Secretariat, Mrs. Lyubof Kravets , informed those present .
From promos, testimonies, presentations, generously presented at the meeting of national partners, the future path is revealed: to us, to the state, to the commonwealth, to initiative spilnots, to local communities need to make a lot more money to combat all forms of stigma and discrimination associated with HIV in Ukraine. Of course, it is more valuable to preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty if good will reigns supreme in our home. Today’s sustrich is a way to consolidate the strength of the fight for human rights and zeal for the sake of public health and epidemic well-being.
