Strengthening Community leadership for decentralised access to HIV and HCV testing project: Findings from qualitative research among key informants in Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Slovenia, and the Russian Federation : October-December, 2021
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Date
2022
Authors
Tokar, Anna
Prokhorova, Anna
North, Sarah
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Abstract
The European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) is a patient and community-led NGO that advocates for the rights and interests of people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and related co-infections within the WHO Europe region. Founded in 1992, the EATG is a network of more than 160 members from 45 countries in Europe. Members are people living with HIV/AIDS and representatives of different communities affected by HIV/AIDS and confections. EATG represents the diversity of more than 2.3 million people living with HIV in Europe as well as those affected by HIV/AIDS and confections. In line with EATG’s long-term strategy goal to engage, inform and empower all people living with and affected by HIV in increasing the usage of HIV, viral hepatitis, TB, and STI combination prevention and testing strategies in affected communities; EATG is implemented the Co-Lead project ‘Strengthening Community leadership for decentralized access to HIV and HCV testing’. This project focused on community perspectives of HIV and HCV self-testing. It examined how the concept of self-testing is exercised and understood on the ground beyond policy analysis, which might not be able to address lived experiences and persistent facilitators and/or barriers to self-testing in a specific context. Early HIV/HCV diagnosis continues to be a global health priority, in particular among key populations and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA).[1-3] Despite efforts to promote and increase the uptake of HIV testing in Europe, it is estimated that it takes on average three years from the time of HIV infection until diagnosis, and every second diagnosed HIV case happens at a late stage (53% of people had CD4 cell count less than 350 cells/mm3 at diagnosis) according to the 2019 surveillance data.[4] In the EECA region, this estimate is a bit higher at 56%.[4] Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 15– 50% of people are unaware of their HIV-positive status across 31 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU and EEA).[5] Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain one of two regions in the world where HIV incidence continues to rise, with a 27% increase in annual HIV infections between 2010 and 2018.[6] Early HCV diagnosis and care also remains a priority for the WHO European Region,
where according to estimate one in every 50 persons are chronically infected
with HCV (approximately 14 million people). Countries in the EECA region are
reported to have an intermediate and high prevalence of HCV antibodies, while the countries of Western and Central Europe - low.[3] Thus, this study prioritized several, key populations groups (i.e., men who have sex with men (MSM), migrants, people who use drugs (PWUD), and sex workers (SW)),
countries in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This study was conducted in the WHO European region with four EECA countries (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Russian Federation), three Central/South Eastern European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland and Slovenia).
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Keywords
European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), IV/AIDS, Co-Lead project, early HIV/HCV diagnosis, research
Citation
Tokar A. Strengthening Community leadership for decentralised access to HIV and HCV testing project: Findings from qualitative research among key informants in Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Slovenia, and the Russian Federation : October-December, 2021 / Anna Tokar, Anna Prokhorova, Sarah North ; European AIDS Treatment Group. - [S. l. : s. n., 2022]. - 85 p.