LAUSR

The Ukrainian Government is preparing to take more programmatic and financial responsibility for both prevention and treatment of the HIV infection in the country, but as it struggles through a health reform, experts say progress in fighting the disease could stall. The HIV epidemic in Ukraine emerged in the wake of the Soviet Union dissolution, with an acceleration of the number of cases identified around 1995. According to 2017 UNAIDS estimates, there are currently 238 000 people with HIV in Ukraine, making it the second largest epidemic in eastern Europe and central Asia, behind Russia. Like most of the region’s epi­ demics, HIV disproportionately aff ects marginalised communities. Prevalence in people who inject drugs (PWID) remains the highest in key populations at 21·9%, according to a 2015 government surveillance survey. Prevalence of HIV among men who have sex with men is 8·5% and among sex workers is 7%.