A Network of Low HIV Prevalence Countries in Central and South East Europe
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24.10.2011
Brussels/Belgrade 24st October 2011 Activists from Central and South Eastern Europe joined key HIV stakeholders from host country, Serbia, and international supporters from the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), International HIV Partnerships (IHIVP), UNAIDS, UNDP and WHO in Belgrade,10th and 11th October 2011, to focus attention on key HIV issues in the regions and to advance the newly launched Network of Low HIV Prevalence Countries in Central and South East Europe (NeLP).
Unlike the high prevalence HIV epidemic raging in North East Europe (in Russia and neighbouring countries) or the more mature epidemic to the West, the HIV epidemic in Central and SouthEast Europe is low prevalence. Nonetheless it can be deadly.
With fewer people living with HIV, fewer supporters and fewer medical staff, the capacity to respond to HIV in these countries is muted. With less overall societal impact, the perceived need to respond to the epidemicis less urgent.
National governments and the general population dont yet see HIV as a major problem. However people living with HIV or most at risk for HIV infection face the same obstacles as their counterparts in high HIV prevalence countries, includingviolations of their human rights, treatment access problems, stigma and psycho-social burdens which impact all aspects of their lives.
Most crucially today, life-threatening stock-outs unexpected shortages of treatments or diagnostics - have become commonplace throughout Central and South East Europe.
At the meeting, HIV activists launching the network called for coordinated national, regional and international action to prevent stock-outs, which cause dangerous treatment interruptions and undermine trust between HIV+ people, their health providers and health care systems.
They also endorsed the Budapest Declaration issued in September to broadcast the key issues in Central and South East Europe in the areas of treatment and care, policy and legislation and prevention and testing.
Concurrently the European AIDS Treatment Group released a guidance to inform and provide assistance to people living with HIV and their care-takers in case of a treatment interruption - Emergency guidance on ART forced treatment interruptions due to drug unavailability (forced stock-outs) for people living with HIV and their care providers in Europe and Central Asia.
"We have recurring stock-outs, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, for multiple reasons such as bad planning, bad communication between departments, Ministries not understanding the importance of continuous treatment and other reasons, and the problem is moving to diagnostics. This makes monitoring of the epidemic andproviding adequate care and support to patients in this region difficult toimpossible", explained Brian West from the Board of Directors of the EATG.
The launch of this community-led network represents a first step intriggering the long time overdue comprehensive action to address these problems, and we call on all relevant actors to provide the necessary support needed, adds Ben Collins, NeLP Belgrade meeting chair.
Contacts:
Ben Collins, NeLP Belgrade meeting chair, bcollins@ihivp.org, +44 7947 020220
Nenad Petković, NeLP Belgrade meeting co-chair, nenad.petkovic@q-club.org.rs, +381 64146724
Brian West, EATG Secretary - brian.west@eatg.org, +44 77 6666 4805
Ana Lúcia Cardoso, Training and Communications Coordinator, EATG, + analucia.cardoso@eatg.org, +32 2 626 96 42
Background information:
More detailed information on the Network of Low HIV Prevalence Countries in Central and South East Europe is available here: http://www.nelp-hiv.org
The Budapest Declaration is available on the NeLP website - http://www.nelp-hiv.org/budapest-declaration#Join%20Budapest%20Declaration
The guidance Emergency guidance on ART forced treatment interruptions due to drug unavailability (forced stock-outs) for people living with HIV and their care providers in Europe and Central Asia is available on the EATG website at:
