From 17 to 23 November, the International HIV and Viral Hepatitis Testing Week is taking place simultaneously across five continents in 47 countries.

This is a global initiative coordinated since 2020 by Coalition PLUS. The aim of the campaign is to expand access to HIV and other infection testing and to engage people who remain outside the healthcare system in prevention efforts. In Ukraine, the ambassadors of the initiative for several years in a row have been the community of the public union “Your Family Doctor”, and the campaign partners are 100% Life.

In 2025, the International Testing Week takes place from 17 to 25 November. A total of 140 doctors from 5 regions of Ukraine have joined the initiative. The slogan of this year’s campaign is “Standing together: test, resist, act,” which in Ukrainian adaptation sounds like “Пліч-о-пліч: тестуйся, чини опір, дій”.

Why is it so important for family doctors to join the campaign? Because about 1,000,000 Ukrainians do not know they have hepatitis C, and every third person living with HIV in Ukraine is unaware of their status. At the same time, rapid tests for viral hepatitis and HIV can be taken free of charge at one’s family doctor — however, not everyone knows about this or uses the opportunity.

“Our message remains unchanged and vitally important: knowing your HIV status means having control over your health and your future. The war adds new threats and challenges every single day, exhausting the system and breaking lives. But despite this, we continue to act. Together with doctors, our regional teams work without stopping — wherever they are needed the most. We are expanding support, strengthening our presence, and doing everything to ensure that each person has the chance to receive help in time,” emphasized Dmytro Sherembey, Head of 100% Life.

You can learn everything about HIV and sexual health and take an online screening — meaning assess your own risk of HIV infection — at the “prozdorovia” website: https://prozdorovia.in.ua/anketa/

You can take a hepatitis test at healthcare facilities marked on the maps of the Public Health Center.

We invite everyone to join the International Testing Week: get tested and learn more about HIV and hepatitis prevention. And if you are a doctor, inform your patients about the importance of regular testing. Remember: being informed means being protected!

To support engagement and education within the medical community, “Your Family Doctor” has prepared a set of useful materials for the International Testing Week, which will help doctors encourage patients to get tested. Special creative posters for participating in the online flash mob can be downloaded here. The posters will help communicate about your activities during the testing week using the campaign hashtags #РазомНеСтрашно #ТестуйсяВІЛьно #wegettested.

The initiators of the International Testing Week — the coalition of community-based organizations Coalition PLUS, which fights HIV and viral hepatitis worldwide — emphasize that the initiative aims to unite countries in combating epidemics and encourage people to get tested. Since 2020, nearly 370,000 tests have been conducted in more than 50 countries, with more than half of the people tested doing so for the first time. Activists, community organizations, and state institutions conduct additional prevention activities, information and educational campaigns, and promote innovative prevention tools such as self-testing and PrEP.

Coalition PLUS is the largest Francophone coalition working in around 50 countries and uniting about 100 organizations. Ukraine’s largest patient organization, 100% Life, joined the Coalition in 2020 and became the provider of the International Testing Week in Ukraine.