The relief of Kyiv has opened the way for a big drive to restore care for thousands of patients with HIV in Ukraine, the World Health Organization indicated today.
WHO announced it was supplying antiretroviral drugs with a view to providing care for every patient living with HIV in the country.
The country is thought to have more than a quarter of million people with HIV and before the brutal Russian invasion nearly 150,000 were receiving antiretroviral treatment. This included more than 2,500 children.
Most HIV patients are men so have stayed in the country, WHO said.
The first convoys carrying drugs entered the country yesterday from Poland.
WHO praised Ukrainian doctors and health services for keeping HIV care going. It said that just 36 out of 403 centres shut their doors and a centre in Mariupol continues to operate as do services in cities such as Chernihiv.
WHO Ukraine representative Dr Jarno Habicht said: “What made this possible in a matter of weeks – much faster than ever before – is the fact that everyone was aware of what was at stake: the looming threat of treatments cut short.
“Every actor involved did their utmost to prevent disrupted treatments or people forced to change medication, something that can lead to loss of life.”
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