The story was first published by the blogger vovan9619.  He posted:

День добрый Всем !!!  Хотелось бы поделиться некоторыми новостями,касаемо Сайта ЗПТ и его Участников..  Есть у нас (в Шостке) такой вот Лёша..На программе он вместе с Женой. Имеют маленькую …. Около года принимал препарат Он , чуть меньше-его жена.. Около двух недель назад,пропустив один день выдачи(по своим причинам..) он пришёл на сайт,через час после его закрытия.  Будучи пьяным,он не понимал-почему ему не выдают препарат.  Старшая медсестра-отказала в выдаче,..  Тогда он не отдавая себе отчёт в поступке-схватил её за горло и стал душить..,  На следующий день,его исключили из программы, мало того-ст.медсестра,написала заявление на него,обвинив в побоях(..??)

In a few days the other patients of the ORT site started to worry about Lesha and his wife and decided to visit him.  They found Lesha in a very bad condition, drunk and with severe abstinent syndrome. They decided to help him. Vovan9619 wrote:

В-общем провели с ним беседу,где он клятвенно пообещал-прекратить Пить и извиниться перед медсестрой.  После чего было написано ходатайство глав.врачу, с просьбой восстановить его на Программе ЗПТ.. Глав.врач-подписал ходатайство,и спустя несколько дней,-Лёшу восстановили.  ….  В кругу Тех Людей,кто за него поручился-Лёша клятвенно пообещал не приходить на сайт-в нетрезвом состоянии,зная о том,-что может за ЭТО,получить “по ушам”-от Своих же,которых он может подвести…    А мораль сей Истории такова;- ЗПТ и Алкоголь(даже - пиво !!!..)- НЕСОВМЕСТИМО !!!!

After a few days the bloggers posted the second part of this story and it was not a story with a happy and. Vovan9619 posted:

Участник ЗПТ “ЛЁША ВАЩЕНКОВ”, благодаря тому что его все участники ЗПТ взяли на поруки и человеческому отношению главврача Орищак Н.С. Был возвращён на программу ЗПТ. Но … его здоровье было на столько подорвано, что он первый день еле пришел, второй день его привела мать. Лёша реально бредил , по всему видно, что очень БОЛЬШИЕ проблемы со здоровьем. Это не могли не заметить “наши” врачи из сайта и поэтому в срочном порядке он был направлен ….на второй этаж (стационар наркологии). Его осмотрел врач-нарколог … и .. определил, что ему нужно срочное обследование ХИРУРГА! Через 10 мин он уже был у хирурга, (рядом 50 метров поликлиника №1) Хирург в СРОЧНОМ порядке направил Ващенкова Лёшу в приёмное отделение ЦРБ г. Шостка.
     НО, КАК ТОЛЬКО УЗНАЛИ ,ЧТО ОН НАРКОМАН, ЕМУ ОТКАЗАЛИСЬ ДЕЛАТЬ ОПЕРАЦИЮ, О НЕОБХОДИМОСТИ КОТОРОЙ, САМИ ЖЕ И ГОВОРИЛИ!
    Лёше становилось все хуже , да и мать начала плакать и умолять врачей о помощи… НО, на , что они решились под этим натиском-направить его почемуто в ТЕРАПЕВТИЧЕСКОЕ отделение. Где он в … УМЕР В ТЕЧЕНИИ ДВУХЧАСОВ!

The patients were sure that the main reasons of the death of his counterparts was stigma towards people living with the drug addiction from he medical personnel. They established the initiative group to attract the attention of the society to their problems and, as they wrote, “to stop the conveyor of deaths”.

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak
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The web-site of ANTIAIDS foundation reported that in the framework of the project for the fist time in Ukraine a database 927 sites of HIV testing was created.

The interactive map shows not only the address of a particular site but also telephone numbers and the information about business hours. It also lists whether the site is unanimous or a person needs to present the ID. The database includes 173 sites of fast testing where a person can get the results in 15-20 minutes.

In addition, the HIV Testing Sites map service contains a FAQ section where a user can find all the information necessary for HIV testing such as how long to wait for a test results, is it possible to receive the results via e-mail or telephone, how much it will cots, what is the procedure of the testing and how to interpret the result, what to do if the results are positive or negative.

All this information is available not only in Internet but also on HIV/AIDS national hotline.

The condoms wending machines map helps people of major Ukrainian cities to find the nearest machine and to receive the instructions on how to use it. The advantages of the machines are speed and simplicity and that people can purchase the condoms anonymously, without attracting attention of other people and without and interaction with shop assistance like in supermarkets or pharmacies, ANTIAIDS web-site reported.

According to Google Ukraine blog the future plan of the project includes implementing improved navigation map and preparation of the mobile version of the service.

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The Association of the Substitution Treatment Advocates of Ukraine submitted the appeal to Mr Kazatchkine with an outline of current situation with the opiate replacement therapy (ORT) in Ukraine and a list of the most significant problems with its implementation. The activists of the Association urged the Executive Director of the Global Fund to discuss the strategy of ORT implementation with the government of Ukraine. The appeal was personally handed out to Mr Kazatchkine by the member of the Association Anton Basenko.

Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Image by ICASO. CC BY-NC-ND.

In its letter to Mr. Kazatchkin the Association expressed gratitude to the Global Fund for the financial support of the substitution therapy in Ukraine. Currently 6632 patients receive the treatment, 18.1% out of them have TB and almost 45% are HIV positive. Although in general the ORT programs in Ukraine are very successful there are a few issues which need to be solved with regards to its implementation. The Association, which main goal is improving of the quality and availably of ORT, listed the issues in the letter and on its web page.

The first issue the letter outlined was absence of government funding for ORT programs which, the Association believes, harms the image of the programs as Ukrainian doctors often tell the patients that the program will despair when the Global Fund stops the funding.

The second identified issue was luck of availability of HIV treatment and treatment of the opportunistic infections such as hepatitis, TB and other diseases for patients which require stay in a hospital and a continuation of ORT. The patients often have to make a choice whether to continue the ORT and hide from the doctors the other health problems or to treat other diseases and to stop ORT. 

The final serious issue is absence of an opportunity for the patients to receive Methadone through a pharmacy with the prescription of a doctor. This significantly slows down the process of re-socialization of the patients.

The activist Anton Basenko, who delivered the letter to the Executive Director of the Global Fund, concluded that today ORT programs in Ukraine became larger in quantity but not in quality.

The web-site focused on the issues of people living with the drug addiction Motilek  posted another letter of appeal to Mr Kazatchkine. In his very emotional letter the harm reduction activist and the ORT patient Igor discussed the tendencies in ORT provision in Ukraine and identified the possible threats. 

Igor claimed that the ORT program has significantly improved his life. He wrote:

Уже около 3-х лет я получаю заместительную поддерживающую терапию (ЗПТ) метадоном в одной из Киевских клиник. Мне 34 года. Из них 8 лет я кололся «ширкой» и 4 года провел в местах, как говорят у нас, не столь отдаленных.

Получаю ЗПТ, и вот уже пару лет, как почувствовал новый вкус жизни. Я осознал, что бездарно потратил в погоне за наркотиками много лучших лет своей жизни. Слава богу, я не заразился СПИДом. И это чудо. Многие ребята из моей прошлой «наркоманской» жизни сгорели от «дури» и от этой страшной болезни.

Я действительно называю эту часть жизни, когда я кололся, своим прошлым. Я остаюсь наркозависимым, потому что я получаю метадон каждый день, но я чувствую себя абсолютно нормальным человеком. Я не кайфую. Я просто живу как обычный человек. … Я работаю, женился, и мы с женой ждем ребенка. Сейчас это моя самая большая радость. Ей-то я и хочу с Вами поделиться. Этой радостью я обязан Альянсу, ГФ, врачам и медсестрам в больнице, куда я хожу каждый день. И я не хочу возвращаться в свое прошлое. Спасибо Вам, Мишель

Igor was very concerned with the future of ORT program is Ukraine and how it might affect his life. He was worried about the decision of the Global Fund to move the implementation of the program from the nonprofit organizations to the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine. Igor believes the Ministry is very bureaucratic and very corrupted and this would negatively affect the implementation of ORT.

Igor was also alarmed with the decision of the Fund in three years to significantly reduce the funding for ORT programs in Ukraine. He urged Mr. Kazatchkin to make sure that Ukrainian government would continue the provision of the Methadone and Buprenorphine to all patients who need them.

The active steps of the harm reduction activists achieved positive results.  After the meeting of Michel Kazatchkine with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov the official web-portal of Ukrainian government reported that Ukraine will continue implementing the substitution therapy programs in a large scale as a mean of HIV prevention.

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The images shown at the exhibition (available online) are fascinating and many of them are not easy to look at. Brent Stirton together with the activists of the foundation and other partner NGOs traveled all over Ukraine and filmed street children in Odessa, gypsy settlements, families with HIV positive children and HIV positive orphans, injection drug users, prostitutes and imprisoned people, reported the web-site of AITIAIDS Foundation. The project contains pictures of very sick people as well as ‘stories with happy end’ – images of people whose lives were saved with the antiretroviral therapy which is currently available in Ukraine thanks to international support or images of people who stopped using drugs or images of HIV positive orphans who found new families.

It was the second time when Brent Stirton came to Ukraine to film people affected by HIV. The first time was in 2005. In his video appeal Stirton compares the impressions from his first and second photo shootings.

A journalist and a blogger Olga Ivanenko who helped Brent Stirton to organize the filming in Ukraine both in 2005 and 2011 shared her reminiscence of work on the project in her blog. She wrote:

В 2005 году я принимала участие в проекте - помогала иностранному фотографу в его работе над документальным фотопроектом о проблеме ВИЧ/СПИДа в Украине. Несмотря на многочисленные ограничения в использовании снимков, фотографии Брента Стиртона до сих пор “живут” в сети своей жизнью. Они достаточно спорны и провокативны, они - “на грани”, и потому вызывают ожесточенные дискуссии и споры.

В этом году Брент Стиртон приехал в Украину снова и отснял еще одну документальную серию об проблеме ВИЧ/СПИДа в Украине. Мы встретили некоторых “героев” первой серии. Встреча с одними радовала - они смогли начать новую жизнь, нашли поддержку, получают антиретровирусную терапию. Встреча с другими огорчила - они не изменили своих привычек, постарели (хотя это странно звучит, когда говоришь о 25-30 летних). Некоторых уже нет в живых. Как и шесть лет назад, мы также встретили невероятных людей. Когда у них диагностировали ВИЧ, от них отворачивались близкие и друзья, их увольняли с работы, им угрожали… Но они выстояли. Доказали себе и другим, что они сильные, и что жизнь продолжается. Хотя теперь она зависит от строгого графика приема лекарств. А также, к сожалению, от того, провело ли государство очередной тендер по закупке лекарств для АРВ терапии…

In 2005 I took part in a project – I helped one foreign photographer in his work on the documentary photo project on HIV/AIDS issues in Ukraine. Despite many limitations on use of the images, Brent Stirton’s pictures still ‘live their own live’ in the net. They are fairly disputable and provocative, they are on a margin that is why they are argued and discussed so much.

This year Brent Stirton came to Ukraine again and filmed one more documentary series on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine. We met with some of the ‘heros’ of the previous photo shooting.  It was a pleasure to meet some of them – they had been able to start a new life, found a support, started receiving antiretroviral treatment. Meetings with the other were upsetting – they had not changed their life habits, they get aged (it sounds strange when you use this word talking about people of 25-30). Some of them have passed away. As six year ago we met fascinating people. When they were diagnosed with HIV they were turned down by their relatives and friends, they were fired from their jobs, threatened… But they had survived. They have proved to themselves and to others that they are strong and life continues. However they life now is depends on strict schedule of taking the drugs. And, unfortunately, on the question whether the government completed a new tender to purchase the antiretroviral medicines.

Olga noted that the participation in the photo project completely changed her stereotypes about HIV positive people. She posted:

Некоторые из героев сюжетов переворачивают представление о тех, кого принято считать “опустившимися”. Как бы низко ни пал человек, многие все же способны сохранить человечность - ухаживать за парализованной матерью, переживать за свою жену и ребенка и делать все, чтобы защищить их после своей смерти…

Some of the heroes of story completely turn over my notion of those who considered being degraded. Does not matter how descended people are, many of them can still stay  human – to take care about paralyzed mother or worry about their wives and children and to do everything to protect them after they pass away.

Olga thinks that the main task of the project is to make the society to think about the people affected by HIV/AIDS.  She wrote:

Вторая серия - не менее провокационна и спорна. Она тоже вызовет бурю дискуссий о людях, живущих с ВИЧ, и о том, нужно ли это все показывать. Дискуссии - это хорошо. Мы все, причастные к созданию этого документального проекта, считаем, что это часть нашей жизни и об этом нужно говорить. Нельзя просто закрыть глаза и сказать “я этого не вижу, значит этого не существует”. Если это заставит задуматься и что-то изменить в своей жизни хотя бы одного человека, значит время и усилия были потрачены не зря.

The second part of the project is not less provocative or disputable. It also initiates a storm of discussions about people living with HIV and about whether it worth to be shown. Discussion is a good thing. All of us, involved in the project, believe that this is a part of our life and it should be talked about.  You cannot just close the eyes and say “I do not see this, so it does not exists”. If this make to think and to change something in his life at list one people, than all the time and efforts were spent not for nothing.

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]]> http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/01/03/ukraine-photo-art-helps-fighting-aids/feed/ 0 http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/12/30/ukraine-the-role-of-the-astau-information-manager/ http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/12/30/ukraine-the-role-of-the-astau-information-manager/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:14:46 +0000 Maryna Reshetnyak http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/?p=5794 Svetlana Sharamok is an information manager for the Association of Substitution Treatment Advocates of Ukraine (ASTAU), of which the Rising Voices grantee project the Drop-In Center is a member. The ASTAU has also been a driving force behind many of the citizen media initiatives that we have been featuring over the past year. Svetlana recently started her position with ASTAU in late 2011. With her background in journalism, she is responsible for updating their website, Facebook account, and for promoting the work of ASTAU among the Ukrainian public. In this email interview with Rising Voices, she talks about herself, her job in the association, and her future plans for using citizen media to raise awareness about her organization and the people they serve.

Svetlana Sharamok, information manager for ASTAU

Rising Voices: Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

Svetlana Sharamok: I am young, beautiful, and happy. And I worked as a journalist before. I like to create and implement various social projects, to do something that makes people to look at the ordinary things from a new perspective, such as garbage or asphalt or to place gloves and hats on the trees to keep them warm in the winter. I also adore traveling.

RV: How did you join the Association and what do you do as the information manager?

SS: Working as a journalist, I never thought that I would join the Association, I did not even know about its existence. When I came to meet with Olga [Olga Beliayeva, the head of the Association] and when I saw my portrait published in the ‘Konoplianaya Pravda’ [newsletter, published by the Association], I realized that perhaps somehow I would work there. But it has happened much faster than I could even imagine. I started to work in the Association just for a few months, but I was able to realize that there is no such word as ‘impossible,’ we can do everything, if we do not know something – we can learn.  Perhaps this philosophy is what I like the most in my work.

I must stay in touch with the members of the Association, update the Facebook page of the Association, update the news page on the web-site – these are my main job responsibilities. I have a lot of work to do, but it is diverse and interesting. Now I often go to the substitution therapy sites, meet the doctors, nurses, patients, and I have a feeling that soon I will meet the police as well. Now, before the elections of the Board of the Association, I met with many of the activists and the regional representatives.     

RV: Could you please describe your typical working day?

SS: I am an information manager. For example, today on my agenda I must call approximately 80 members of the association meaning that about 50 people will wish something good for me, and I am waiting until all these wishes will come true. Some people will share with me the news that their child went to school, somebody will tell me that they have found a job, some members are preparing to be on the TV talk show about drugs. Often I call a person for the first time, but I have a feeling that I am talking to my old friend.    

In the morning, I often visit ORT sites and meet with doctors and the patients. The patients are in a hurry, they need to take the medication and then to run to their jobs. Some people are coming to the sites with their relatives, not because they force them to have the treatment, but just to protect them from the police, but this does not always help.

RV: What are your future plans as an information manager of ASTAU?

SS: I would like to produce a short documentary about people who take part in the substitution therapy. I do not understand why there is so much discussion about the opiate replacement therapy (ORT), I often meet these people and they more look like users of insulin than users of drugs, but of course you can find various personalities… My other plan is to increase the internet activism of the bloggers – ORT patients both on the Facebook and our web-site as I believe that their experience is interesting and useful.

Svetlana Sharamok, information manager for ASTAU

 
RV: How you would describe the members of the association?

SS: Once I was asked how I would describe a former drug addict. I thought much before answering this question. Really, who are the patients of the substitution therapy? They do not look like a community of bikers, or bicyclists or a community of marijuana lovers. These are people with various life stories and from various professional backgrounds. Igor makes documentaries about the lives of women, the family of Sergey and Lena works at a charity fund and helps other people to reduce the harm from drug usage. Eugene is a pharmacist; Olga is a director of the charity fund. Life is life and it does not give any credit to people who used to take drugs.     

RV: What do you think the Association does for its members? How does it helps them?

SS: For some people, the Association is their life. Sometimes you call such people and hear about how they fight for the continuity of treatment [availability of Methadone in other medical establishments], and then in a few days you see the news that in this particular town the first patients received the medicine in the hospital. Some people have joined the Association just to know where to go and who they should address when they need assistance. We are a sort of buffer between medical personnel, health care officials, and people who receive the substitution therapy or just want to start receiving it.

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]]> http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/12/30/ukraine-the-role-of-the-astau-information-manager/feed/ 0 http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/12/26/ukraine-taking-to-the-web-to-raise-funds-and-awareness/ http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2011/12/26/ukraine-taking-to-the-web-to-raise-funds-and-awareness/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:07:53 +0000 Maryna Reshetnyak http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/?p=5750 According to UNAIDS estimates, more than 1% of Ukrainian people are living with HIV, but only one-third of those infected are aware of their status. About 3,000 people die because of AIDS-related diseases every year in Ukraine.  Although unsafe drug use is still playing the major role in spreading the infection, more and more new cases of transmission of HIV are associated with unsafe sex behavior.

As part of the fight against the epidemic, the largest private Ukrainian charity the Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation has come up with creative ideas aimed at rising awareness within Ukrainian society about HIV/AIDS issues. In addition, they collect funds to help people living with HIV/AIDS across the country. These innovative charity initiatives are mostly web-based and involve partnership with large Ukrainian online services and social networks.

Beginning in 2007, the Elena Pinchuck Foundation has been running the Fashion AID project. The idea of the project is that well-known Ukrainian fashion designers, pop-stars, and TV presenters, together with amateur designers develop creative T-shirt designs promoting safe sex behavior. These T-shirts are available for purchase on the project website. All funds collected from the selling of the T-shirts are used to help Ukrainian children living with HIV.  The updates about the new designs available are also posted on the Facebook page of the project.

On December 1, 2011 and in commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Elena Pinchuk Foundation, together with online information exchange service ex.ua, ran an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign among Ukrainian internet users. In 24 hours, the campaign reached more than 1 million users who viewed the awareness videos on the YouTube channel of the ANTIAIDS Foundation channel, which was a new record for Ukrainian social projects. About 100,000 users visited the website of the Fashion AID project, reported the web-site of Elena Pinchuk Foundation, and most of this visitors were people aged 18-35, which are the most vulnerable to HIV infection. In the framework of this awareness project, a permanent section with a collection of HIV/AIDS awareness videos from all over the world was created on the ex.ua website.

"Stars on Sale" project logo

Logo of 'Dreams come true' project

Finally, on December 15, the ANTIAIDS Foundation started one more online charity project ‘Dreams come true’.  This Christmas project gives every person an opportunity to fulfill a dream of a HIV positive child. In partnership with International HIV/AIDS Alliance and All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, the Foundation collected dreams from 800 HIV positive children from various regions of Ukraine and posted them on the web. People could donate either money or send gifts to fulfill a dream of a child, such as 11 year-old Maxim who wished ‘to have a new bicycle’ or 5 year-old Anastasia who wished ‘to have a doll and a lot of candies’.

According to the report of Elena Pinchuk Foundation in 5 days since the start of the project, Ukrainians made 592 HIV positive children's dreams come true.

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The Russian Embassy Protest was announced in the middle of November when INPUD published the appeal to the Russian Government arguing for changing the attitude towards drug users and the harm reduction programs such as needle exchange and opiate replacement therapy (ORT). The appeal was republished by the ASTAU web-resources as a sign of solidarity with the Russian peers.

The appeal stated that the current treatment of drug users by the Russian government was unjustified and cruel which led to thousands of unnecessary deaths. Unwillingness of the government to legalize of the needle exchange and ORT programs made unavailable to millions of people the services which could help them to attain ‘the highest possible level of health’.

According to INPUD the Russian government ignores the international scientific opinion concerning the influence of such program on the reduction of spread of HIV/AIDS among injection drugs users as since 2005 main ORT medications Methadone and Buprenorphine have been included in the List of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization. So, availability of these medications is a part of essential human rights.

The INPUD Appeal contained statistics describing the situation with spread of HIV/AIDS among Russian drug users. According to INPUD there are about 5 million people who use drugs in the country, 1,7 million out of them are opiate injection drugs users; out of this number 37,2% are HIV positive, and in some regions this rate is as high as 75%. According to official data about 80% of HIV infection from 1987 to 2008 is associated with injection of drugs. Main way of infecting is use of contaminated syringes and needles. The source of almost 60% of newly identified HIV cases in 2010 was contaminated equipment.

In the same time, only a few needle exchange programs exists in the country. They are run by small NGOs and do not cover all needs.  The Russian government does not support such programs as, according the Russian Minister of Health Care, the provision of the sterile needles and syringes would stimulate the society to be more tolerant to the drug users which is against the Russian law, INPUD reported.

INPUD stated that despite of the recommendation of many respected international organizations the harm reduction programs which allow significant reduction of injection use of drugs such as ORT is still illegal. Moreover, people who advocate such programs are officially considered criminals. The legal status of the needle exchange programs is not clear as well, as all harm reduction programs are viewed by current Russian government as a promotion of drugs.

Use of any drug in Russian is considered to be a crime and new stricter laws which are currently considered by the Russian law makers would allow a criminal prosecution of every drugs user. INPUD reports that this would marginalize people living with drug addiction even more and increase the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.

INPUD activist urged the Russian government to start the harm reduction programs aimed at medicating of the spread of HIV/AIDS such as ORT and needle exchange, cease the criminal responsibility for use of drugs, provide Anti-Retroviral Therapy for HIV positive drug users, stop discrimination of people who use drugs and respect their human rights, stop  persecution of harm reduction activists and involve the people who use drugs in developing of the policies aimed on improvement of their lives.

Photo by Anton Belitskiy, “Ridus” agency of citizens’ journalism, www.ridus.ru

In Russia itself on December 1, 2011 the non-government organization “Patients’ Cotrol” organized an unauthorized rally next to the building of the Ministry of Health Care urging for more attention to the problems of HIV treatment in Russia. The activists brought to the entrance of the Ministry a few symbolic coffins, a small brass band played funeral march. The rally meant to make the health care officials to understand that absence of adequate treatment of HIV in particular lack of anti-retroviral medications led to many unnecessary deaths. “Patients’ Control” and ‘Ridus” agency reported that some of the participants of the rally were arrested by Russian police.      

Photo by Anton Belitskiy, “Ridus” agency of citizens’ journalism, www.ridus.ru

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak
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As a part of advocacy efforts aimed on solving the issue with the continuity of ORT treatment, Ukrainian harm reduction activists produce videos which describe the situation around this problem, tell stories of real people who suffer because of inertness of the health care authorities and report the small successes in this regards.

The video produced by an activist of the Association of Substitution Treatment Advocates of Ukraine Igor Kuzmenko not only presents the personal stories of a patients suffering from the problem but also contains the quote from the medical doctor of Donetsk Methadone site saying how important the continuity of ORT treatment  is for her patients. The regional representative of the Association Natalia Zlenina talks about the steps the Association is making to change the situation for better. The video ends with the appeal to the society to help to solve the problem and the words “Don’t let us die”.

The video story of the ORT patient Elena is filmed by one of the hero of the previous post Eugene Selin. The sad story covers a yearlong battle of the  Donetsk harm reduction NGO ‘Our Victory’ with local health care authorities to help Elena to receive the Methadone in the hospital where she needs to stay because of the surgery she requires. Unfortunately, this struggle has not brought any results yet.

The video posted by the activist of the NGO ‘Chance’ from Sumy could be viewed a small success story. The hero of the video was an active injections drug user and started the ORT treatment on the recommendation of his doctor in a TB clinic. Now he stays in TB hospital and is able to receive both TB and ORT treatment in the same place. 

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak
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Screenshot from the video

Substitution therapy helped 33 year old Eugene Selin from Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk to change his life dramatically. For more then 15 years Eugene had been an injection drug user, but now he has a beautiful wife, a home and he successfully runs a small business.  Eugene believes that everything in his life has just started.

Click this link for the video with English subtiles.

The 44 year old patient Segey Tetiorkin lives in the Western part of Ukraine in the City of Ivano-Frankivsk with his mother and daughter. In the video he very warmly talks about his relations with mother and how he makes sure that his daughter who is now a student of the music college does not repeat the mistakes he made in his life.

The stories was filmed and edited by the member of the association Igor Kuzmenko.

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak
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Because of the efforts of the Association and other harm reduction NGOs with the support of international organizations, the situation in this area started changing for better gradually. Blogger Viktoria Lintsova reported positive changes in her city of Kirovograd where patients started receiving Methadone in regular hospital. At the middle of October Viktoria posted that the regional health care authorities adopted a new regulations allowing patients to receive opiate replacement medications in other medical establishments. Victoria was very grateful to the Association for the support it provided in this regards. She wrote:

.. сие событие стало возможным благодаря тому, что в Кировоградский облздрав было подано обращение от Ассоциации в начале июня этого года. Затем был визит технической поддержки нашего специалиста по развитию регионов Алексея Загребельного, во время которого была проведена рабочая встреча с нашим областным наркологом по вопросу беспрерывности и разработки областного приказа.

 On 11/11/11/ Viktoria reported that this new regulations now work in reality. The first substitution therapy patients started receiving Methadone while staying in a Tuberculoses clinic.  She posted:

Одним из наиболее проблемных моментов было лечение ТБ, особенно в случаях с открытой  легочной формой - тогда пацинт вообще попадал в замкнутый круг - при открытой форме ТБ больным не разрещается покидать территорию больницы, поэтому необходимость ежедневного посещения сайта ЗПТ ставила человека под угрозу выписки из-за нарушения больничного режима. Кроме того, все усложнялось тем, что противотуберкулезный стационар находится за городом (около 20 км), добираться долго и сложно, и с учетом того, что туберкулезный больной с открытой легочной формой является источником инфекции для других …

 […]

  важность беспрерывности при госпитализации несомненна - …, теперь не надо выбирать между лечением и участием в ЗПТ.

Blogger buprik from Dnipropetrovsk, who is a patient of Buprenorphine substitution therapy, reported that regional health care authorities allowed him and his wife to receive the medications via prescription. Blogger buprik and his wife had more than 20 years of drug addiction experience and a few imprisonments and became the patients of the replacement therapy in 2008. At first they were very happy about the program but later on they were disappointed with certain aspects of it.  The way the substitution therapy was provided did not allow them to live a full life, to find a job or to travel. Necessary to go to the therapy site every day for many years had become a real burden for them. 

In 2009 the regional health care authorities started a pilot project of provision of Buprenorphine though the prescriptions. At first, only four people were qualified to take part in this experiment but the situation has been gradually changing for better and now 30 our of 50 Buprenorphine patients receive their medications via prescription and the blogger buprik and his wife are among them.

Buprik posted:  

Что для нас рецептурная форма выдачи??? ВСЕ!!! Это как глоток свободы за столько лет!!!

Могла ли мечтать моя жена … что пройдет такое время??? Пройдут годы горя и страданий, годы заключения, годы жизни в подполье и постоянном страхе, появяться болезни и вот уже ей не молодой ГОСУДАРСТВО ВЫДАСТ НА РУКИ ТО РАДИ ЧЕГО ОНА СТРАДАЛА И ТЕРПЕЛА ВСЮ ЖИЗНЬ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! И теперь она хотя бы под конец жизни сможет просто поболеть дома-лежа в постели,съездить туда там где никогда не была, работать там где ей нравиться, и в конце концов стать полноценным человеком общества со свободным перемещением!!! При этом у нее в кармане будет ЖЕЛЕЗНЫЙ ДОКУМЕНТ подтверждающий хранение жизненноважного лекарства с хорошо видной печатью(для слепых мусоров)-РЕЦЕПТ!!! И походка на этот раз у нее будет уверенная …Хотя бы маленькая группа многострадального общества наркопотребителей теперь стала В ЗАКОНЕ!!! 

Written by Maryna Reshetnyak
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