The project “Crisis Support for Key Populations Vulnerable to HIV in Ukraine” is being launched in Ukraine by the non-governmental organization VirusOFF together with its partners, with financial support from the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.
Its main goal is not to provide one-time assistance, but to offer people in particularly vulnerable situations a real point of support: a safe space, basic humanitarian aid, consultations with specialists, and an opportunity to regain strength when they need it most.
The project will run from April 2026 to September 2026 and will cover four regions of Ukraine: Poltava, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
In these regions, day crisis centers will operate for people from communities vulnerable to HIV who are experiencing a crisis situation. In particular, the project will support:
- people who inject drugs, as well as people receiving opioid agonist therapy — in Poltava;
- representatives of the LGBTIQA+ community — in Kharkiv;
- trans* people — in Odesa;
- women living with HIV, including pregnant women and women with young children — in Ivano-Frankivsk.
At the crisis centers, people will be able to receive what is often critically important in times of instability: support without judgment, assistance without unnecessary barriers, and a space where they can catch their breath.
Available forms of support will include:
- vouchers for food, hygiene products, and over-the-counter medicines;
- kits for mothers and children;
- assistance with restoring documents;
- psychological and social support;
- consultations with medical specialists, upon request;
- a safe space during power outages where people can stay warm, charge their devices, have a snack, and drink tea;
- legal assistance;
- participation in activities that help stabilize emotional well-being, overcome crisis, and gradually regain a sense of control over their lives.
A special focus of the project is on internally displaced persons who belong to key populations. For many of them, forced displacement means not only the loss of home or familiar surroundings, but also new barriers in accessing medical, social, and psychological services. That is why the initiative will pay particular attention to people who are forced to cope simultaneously with both the consequences of war and their own life crisis.
“A crisis often means losing the ground beneath your feet — especially when a person already belongs to a vulnerable community. Through this project, we want to provide not only immediate assistance, but also the feeling that there is a safe place nearby, people who understand, and support one can rely on,” says Oksana Dobroskok, Project Manager at VirusOFF.
Overall, the project aims to support around 800 people from communities vulnerable to HIV in Ukraine.
Information on how to access the crisis centers will be shared through closed community chats and the social media pages of partner organizations. This approach has been chosen for security reasons and to protect the confidentiality of potential project participants.
The project is implemented by NGO “VirusOFF” in partnership with NGO “Meredian”, NGO “Spectrum Kharkiv”, NGO “T*South”, NGO “Dim 28.24”, and CO “Positive Women – Ivano-Frankivsk”, with financial support from the Canada-Ukraine Foundation.