Based on the Results of the Qualitative Study

Содержание

• at least 5 people in each group;
  
• age from 15 to 49 y.o., youth – up to 28 y.o.;
  
• 2 PLWH in each group;
  
• in groups of IDUs, prisoners, youth – 3 women and 2 men;
  
• CSWs – women;
  
• in each group 1 key person – leader of the national level – expert;
  
• in each group 4 people from different regions of the country (including regional experts);
  
• in each group 1 person from a small town.
  

• each expert from a community submitted a list of self-organizations and initiative groups (IGs);
  
• self-organizations/IGs were distributed by regions (north, south, west, center, east);
  
• in every region by random choice a self-organization/IG was defined (every third one) for a respondent for interview to be selected (according to the criteria).
  

• In your opinion, how many people living with HIV are there in Ukraine? Where do you have such data from? From which last source have you received such information?
  
• Do you know the speed of HIV/AIDS epidemic transmission among most-at-risk populations (people using drugs, sex workers, MSM, transgender people, women, youth, and others)?
  

• In your opinion, what share of Ukrainian public health care budget is allocated to fighting AIDS?
  
• What part of this funding is directed to prevention and treatment programs?
  
• Are you aware of changes that have been taking place in funding? (increase/decrease of funding in the last 5 years as well as changes in funding of activities in certain regions/areas of activities/populations)
  

• What HIV prevention measures implemented in Ukraine do you know about?
  
• In your opinion, which prevention activities (condoms, syringes (for IDUs), information materials, counseling of social workers and referral to other specialists depending on the needs of a client) are the most important for different key populations (CSWs, IDUs, MSM, PR, YOUTH)?
  
• Do those prevention activities include integrated health care and not only prevention of virus transmission?
  

• What laws or regulations adopted in Ukraine or other mechanisms of protection of PLWH and key populations from direct or indirect discrimination do you know about?
  
• Do you know about the National AIDS Strategy/Policy in Ukraine? Where did you get information about it?
  
• In your opinion, are the issues of gender equality part of governmental AIDS policy or national AIDS strategy in Ukraine?
  
• To what extent does implementation of this policy comply with the existing situation?
  

• Have you taken part in activities related to provision of public access to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support? If yes, in what way?
  
• Have you received any prevention materials in the recent year (condoms, syringes (for IDUs), information materials, counseling of social workers and referral to other specialists depending on the needs of a client, tests)? Who has provided such materials?
  
• In your opinion, what share (of a group/general population) has access to prevention materials? Where do they get such materials from?
  
• Do you know what targets did Ukraine set in the area of AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support?
  
• How do you access such indicators (realistic, integrated, ambitious)?
  
• Have you personally or your organization participated in defining of “target indicators” of Ukraine in fighting AIDS (road map)?
  
• Are you aware of any other organizations having taken part in defining of target indicators (set forth in the road map)?
  
• Have you received any support related to participation in the process of defining of the “target indicators”?
  
• If yes, what support and from whom? (Government, UN, international organizations)
  
• How do you evaluate participation of public sector in the process of development and review of “universal access target indicators”?
  
• Which key issues and problems of fighting AIDS are covered (IDUs, PR, MSM, CSWs, YOUTH)?
  
• In your opinion, which factors hinder participation of society in the process of fighting AIDS?
  
• In your opinion, will attempts to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support in Ukraine be successful?
  
• What are the main barriers/obstacles?
  
• What recommendations on solving the issues can you offer?
  
• Are there any studies related to fighting AIDS carried out by your organization? How do those data correlate with the official data (supplement them)? What are the main differences between the two sets of data?
  

• Have you taken part in defining the “target indicators”?
  
• What “target indicators” have been agreed on initially?
  
• Have those target indicators been reviewed after they were initially set?
  
• What is the procedure of review of target indicators?
  
• In general, what are the main gaps in target indicators?
  
• How do those gaps hinder efforts to fight AIDS?
  
• Based on your experience, what are the reasons of those gaps in target indicators?
  
• In general, what target indicators are in line with the situation?
  
• How can the quality of target indicators be increased? (describe the target indicators which have been or could be offered by you or your colleagues from the public sector)
  

• In your opinion, what impact does the governmental red tape have on the provision of universal access?
  
• How developed is the infrastructure of universal access provision in Ukraine?
  
• How developed is the health care system (staff, medications, clinics) and its policy related to PLWH?
  
• What barriers do families and communities face when accessing universal access programs? (Example)
  
• How many people in need may be provided with the necessary support in Ukraine?
  

• Are the agreed “universal access target indicators” included to the national AIDS strategy?
  
• Does the national program include strategies of PLWH treatment (antiretroviral treatment and treatment of opportunistic infections as well as CD4 and viral load diagnostics)?
  
• Does the national program include strategies of HIV/AIDS prevention among key populations, including women? Which ones?
  
• What are the main gaps of the national program?
  
• Has the government developed any strategies to improve the health care system and to solve the problems, related to access of PLWH to medications (first of all related to their accessibility, prices and human factor)?
  

• What (governmental and other) strategies and programs providing access to every key population (indicate which one) to prevention services and materials (syringes, condoms, information) are you aware of?
  
• What HIV prevention materials may be acquired and received in your region? (e.g., condoms or femidoms, lubricants, clean syringes, bleach/disinfectant for needles, opioid substitution treatment (OST), etc.) How easy are they to access?
  
• What main prevention messages does the government use for HIV prevention? (e.g., abstinence, safe sex, fidelity, syringe exchange, etc.)
  
• Are services of vertical transmission prevention (PMTCT) accessible to general population?
  
• What does the package of services for vertical transmission prevention include?
  
• Have you ever been tested for HIV? Have you heard about such a possibility?
  
• Does staff of the organizations providing testing and counseling (counselors or employees performing orientation/counseling functions) receive any instructions on providing various services of prevention counseling for different key populations?
  
• What prevention materials are available in the organizations providing counseling and testing for HIV?
  
• Are there any barriers limiting possibilities of key populations in HIV prevention and health care in general?
  
• Have you received any information related to HIV when studying at school, college or university or at work?
  
• What do you know about HIV transmission?
  
• Do you practice safe sex? In what way? How often?
  
• Do you use disposable syringes when injecting drugs? How often? Where do you get them?
  

• Are you aware of any programs or information campaigns preventing stigmatization and social isolation of such populations? Please give a detailed answer.
  
• Does AIDS strategy/policy include any components aimed to protect the rights of people living with HIV or other key populations and provide for compliance with those rights? If the answer is positive, please describe those components.
  
• How does the state provide for protection of and respect for the rights of people living with HIV and other key populations?
  
• Has the state organized a monitoring system in order to protect the rights of people living with HIV and other key populations? If the answer is positive, please describe how this system works and what impact it makes.
  

• What are the barriers (difficulties) for increase of access to treatment programs?
  
• Are ARV-medications in your country easy to access?
  
• What is the level of accessibility of ART (how many people do receive ARV-medications?)
  
• What is the ratio of people having access to treatment to those who need it?
  
• Where can people get ARV-medications/treatment?
  
• What ARV-treatment components are accessible in your country?
  
• Is ARV-treatment provided free of charge in state-funded treatment facilities?
  
• If patients have to pay for medications, what is the cost of ART in your country (enclose a list of medications with prices)?
  
• Are tests for monitoring of treatment provided in Ukraine? What tests?
  
• Are they provided free of charge? If no, what is the price of tests for CD4 and viral load in your country (enclose the list of tests with prices)?
  
• What medications for HIV treatment are included into the list of the key medications in your country?
  
• Do you use generic medications? Which ones? Where do you purchase them?
  
• Are there any formal or informal barriers limiting access of representatives of key populations (including women) to ART and public health care services in general?