Project description

Title: HIV/AIDS Prevention in Eastern Europe
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus (supraregional)
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ukraine, Ministry of Education, Moldova, Red Cross in Belarus
Overall term: December 2007 to November 2010

Context

In Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, the number of people living with HIV has more than doubled over the last five years. The growth rates of the disease in Ukraine and Moldova are the highest in the region. While initially the group mainly affected was drug users, the virus is now increasingly being transmitted through sexual contact and the epidemic is spreading to the general population. In all three countries, youth and young adults (age group 15 to 29) account for the majority of the new infections and therefore constitute the most-at-risk group. However, (vocational) schools and residential facilities lack suitable approaches to prevent the disease. There is at present neither a strategy nor a systematic approach to institutionalising HIV/AIDS prevention in vocational training. Business enterprises in the three countries have yet to initiate an integrated HIV/AIDS workplace programme. There is an overall lack of awareness programmes and good-quality prevention measures.

Objective

HIV/AIDS prevention has improved in the vocational training sector and in enterprises in Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus.

Approach

The project advises vocational training establishments and enterprises on developing prevention measures for youth and young adults. Associations of employers and employees as well as the labour ministries are also assisted in drafting national guidelines for HIV/AIDS workplace programmes. Components of support consist of technical and organisational advisory services by international and local experts, subsidies for training measures and local subsidies for government and non-governmental organisations for the purpose of refining existing approaches and developing innovative measures.

The implementation of this project is directly related to two other projects: Reform of the Health System and Prevention of HIV/AIDS, being implemented on behalf of BMZ, and the Promotion of German–Ukrainian Cooperation and Initiatives Between Government and Non-governmental Actors in the Field of HIV/AIDS, being implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).