Clinton Foundation joins efforts in the fight against AIDS in Ukraine with Elena Franchuk and Victor Pinchuk
The funds will be used during the next five years to pay for programs aimed at slowing the growth of new HIV/AIDS cases, as well as for treatment and support of people living with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine.
“I'm happy to be working with the Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation on expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services in Ukraine,” President Clinton said. “Through their generous support, we will be able to greatly increase the number of people with access to these services, and I am grateful for the partnership”.
“The work of Clinton Foundation made tremendous difference in treatment and care of people living with HIV/AIDS in many countries. I am sure that Ukraine will benefit from President Clinton’s expertise,” Elena Pinchuk said. “For the ANTIAIDS Foundation this partnership means an expansion of our activities, which have been centered for the last three years on media campaigns. Now, to change the AIDS situation in Ukraine, the country needs the best international experience and know-how in combating the epidemics”.
Work during the first year of the project will be centered on the Dnepropetrovsk region, in the southeast part of Ukraine, which is home to more than 3 million people. The program’s initiatives will be replicated in other regions of Ukraine in following years.
Specifically, the programs will work to increase access to rapid testing, improve laboratory capacity, train and mentor health care workers, introduce HIV treatment/substitution therapy and to improve drug procurement processes. The program will also work nationally in Ukraine to expand HIV testing legislation, develop rapid HIV test guidelines, register methadone for use and improve distribution and drug procurement processes and prices.
The agreement is the result of discussions started in 2004, when representatives of The Clinton Foundation visited Ukraine at the invitation of Ms. Pinchuk. Following that visit an agreement between the Clinton Foundation and the government of Ukraine was signed, which assisted the government in receiving access to the lowest prices on generic antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment. The agreement allowed more patients in Ukraine to receive access to live-saving therapy as part of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria grant.
The work continued in 2005 during President Clinton’s visit to Ukraine, with the signing of a memorandum which identified priority directions of cooperation of Clinton Foundation and the Government of Ukraine in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The five year program resulted from that memorandum. The Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation expressed their readiness to join efforts in the implementation of this project and committed the US$2.5 million.
The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (www.clintonfoundation.org) strives to make treatment for HIV/AIDS more affordable and to implement large-scale integrated care, treatment, and prevention programs. Since its inception, CHAI has helped bring AIDS care and treatment to over 415,000 people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.
The Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation (www.antiaids.org/en). Elena Pinchuk has long been involved in business and charitable activities in Ukraine. She established her foundation in September 2003. It is the first and sole foundation in Ukraine committed to fighting HIV/AIDS. The Foundation activities are aimed at: drawing attention of opinion makers, government authorities and business leaders to the HIV/AIDS problem; implementing large-scale informational and educational campaigns; providing direct support to people living with HIV/AIDS; attracting resources for supporting relevant projects on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; and diminishing the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Victor Pinchuk Foundation. Victor Pinchuk is the founder of Interpipe Corporation, one of the largest Ukrainian industrial groups. Interpipe is the only East European company member of the Global Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS. The Victor Pinchuk Foundation develops and supports projects that contribute to the development of Ukraine. The six fields of activity and the projects of the Foundation have been selected because of their strategic importance for the future of the country: Health (Neonatal Centers), Education (Stipends Programs, School of Economics, cooperation with the Aspen Institute), Culture (Contemporary Art Centre, Film on the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg), Rule of Law (with the Soros Foundation), International Development (promotion of Ukraine in the EU) and support for local communities in Ukraine.
For more detailed information, please, contact Deepak Verma, CHAI’s Chief Operating Officer ([email protected]), and Olga Rudneva, director of ANTIAIDS Foundation ([email protected]).
Contact phone number: +380 44 490 4805.
