Refugees from Ukraine receiving antiretroviral therapy in destination countries and territories of the World Health Organization European Region, including EU/EEA countries, February 2022 to March 2023.
Giorgi Kuchukhidze, Machiko Otani, Stela Bivol, Teymur Noori
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Between the start of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and May 2023, more than 8 million individuals have been displaced from Ukraine. Ukraine has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. From a humanitarian and public health perspective it is critical that Ukrainian refugees living with or at risk of HIV have access to testing, treatment and healthcare in their destination country. To gain better insight on the number of refugees from Ukraine receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in destination countries, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control conducted three surveys in July 2022, November 2022 and March 2023. Among 39 countries that responded to at least one survey, 31 had information on the number of refugees from Ukraine receiving ART in their country. A total of 6,519 refugees (1.5 per 1,000 refugees) received ART, lower than previous estimates by WHO, ECDC and partners of between 0.16% and 1.0%. This discrepancy may suggest a substantial number of undiagnosed and/or diagnosed but untreated HIV infections. Improving access to healthcare for people living with HIV among refugees from Ukraine is vital to ensure quality care.
期刊介绍:
Eurosurveillance is a European peer-reviewed journal focusing on the epidemiology, surveillance, prevention, and control of communicable diseases relevant to Europe.It is a weekly online journal, with 50 issues per year published on Thursdays. The journal includes short rapid communications, in-depth research articles, surveillance reports, reviews, and perspective papers. It excels in timely publication of authoritative papers on ongoing outbreaks or other public health events. Under special circumstances when current events need to be urgently communicated to readers for rapid public health action, e-alerts can be released outside of the regular publishing schedule. Additionally, topical compilations and special issues may be provided in PDF format.