HIV-positive Vinnytsia residents set up association

Vinnytsia — HIV/AIDS-positive people know their needs best. So they have started taking care of their lives and resolving problems on their own. They have set up an association, won a grant, leased an office, and even started implementing programs in the raion centers with the highest number of HIV/AIDS-positive residents.

There are towns where there are more than 100 officially registered people like this. “Multiply this number by 10 and you will have the real state of affairs,” said Oksana Shevchuk, Vinnytsia representative of the All-Ukrainian Network of HIV/AIDS-positive people. The association’s concrete work is to improve the quality of life of these people. One of the latest examples is an outing on the Southern Buh River for 20 children undergoing anti-viral therapy financed by local benefactors.

“We establish raion public centers and mutual assistance groups to give HIV-positive people an opportunity to communicate with each other and receive all necessary legal and informational support,” said Olha Konovalchuk, a consultant for the organization on development in small towns.

Gender equality remains a burning issue among the HIV/AIDS-positive people. Due to having too many things to attend to or living in an underprivileged family, women are usually unable to receive treatment and support on an equal footing with men. Therefore, the organization conducts trainings for HIV/AIDS-positive women, raising their self-esteem and explaining their rights to receive medical services and jobs, as well as the rights of HIV/ AIDS-positive children to have equal access to kindergartens and schools along with healthy children.