3rd July an AIDS 2026 Affiliated Independent Event on the theme: #RethinkRebuildRise: #PutPeopleFirst to deliver on #endAIDS and #endTB targets in next 54 months.
The perspective of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region and marginalized communities was reflected by Rise & Decriminalize activists from EHRA, EWNA and ECOM.
Ganna Dovbakh, EHRA Executive Director highlighted that EECA remains the only region where the HIV epidemic continues to grow, particularly among people who use drugs, due to punitive drug policies, inadequate harm reduction coverage, shrinking civic space, and insufficient political commitment.
EHRA calls for a rights-based, evidence-driven response centered on five priorities: decriminalizing drug use and ending punitive approaches; expanding comprehensive, community-led harm reduction services; ensuring sustainable investment in community organizations; protecting long-term domestic and international financing amid increasing restrictions on civil society; and guaranteeing the meaningful participation of people who use drugs in decision-making. Achieving global HIV targets requires replacing criminalization and stigma with public health, partnership, and evidence-based policies. Full talking points by EHRA.
Medea Khmelidze, Executive Director of EWNA, emphasized that ending AIDS in EECA requires renewed commitment to community leadership, human rights, gender equality, and the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.
Women living with HIV—particularly women who use drugs, sex workers, migrant, rural, LBT, and violence-affected women—continue to face intersecting discrimination, exacerbated by shrinking civic space, funding cuts, and increasing restrictions on civil society. EWNA calls for sustainable financing, community-led monitoring, and long-term support for community organizations, stressing that trusted, community-led responses are essential to improving access to services, protecting human rights, strengthening accountability, and achieving the 2030 HIV targets. Full talking points by EWNA.