Pavlo LODYN*
Every third Sunday in May, the world commemorates those who died of AIDS. Constant use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) helps to prevent the development of the clinical stage of infection due to human immunodeficiency virus, as well as to have a full life with such a diagnosis. Treatment suppresses the virus and prevents it from destroying the immune system.
The full-scale invasion of the Russian army with its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. The medical system is no exception, so patients in need of ongoing treatment are in a particularly difficult position. The occupier deprives a chance of such people to fight the disease for their lives.
The Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine declared that according to experts 257,000 people in our country were HIV-infected. About a third of them may still be unaware of their diagnosis. The Public Health Alliance International Charitable Foundation is one of those professional organizations working with key NGOs, the Ministry of Health and other government agencies to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine.
* executive director of the Center for Political Narratives of Democracy