Geneva, Switzerland & Online, 9 February 2023Ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (24 February 2023), Commissioners Kwasniewski and Kazatchkine representing the Eastern and Central European and Central Asian Commission on Drug Policy (ECECACD) teamed up with two of Ukraine`s leading civil society organisations – the Alliance for Public Health and 100% Life (formerly the Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV) – to provide an updated snapshot of the impact of the invasion on the delivery of HIV, TB and Hepatitis services across the country, and against the backdrop of a fragile Eastern European and Central Asian (EECA) regional health system.
The EECA region is home to the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world and injecting drug use is still the biggest driver of the HIV and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics. Since February 2022 the Russian invasion of Ukraine has complicated efforts to deliver drugs, clean needles and methadone to vulnerable populations.The ECECACD has developed three background publications which provide comprehensive information, including recommendations, about current patterns of drug production, trafficking and consumption in the region. The publications also address prevailing drug policy approaches in the region and their consequences, and on public narratives on drugs and drug-use in the region. Please find the publications on the Global Commission’s website.
Press Conference: “One year On: The Impact of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Drug and Health Policy in Ukraine and across the Eastern European and Central Asian region