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Teams of volunteers and outreach workers were trained last weekend to provide advice to risk groups on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), during two workshops held in Minsk as part of a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project carried out in cooperation with the Belarus Ministry of Health.
The workshops, which were attended by experts in street social work among sex-industry women workers, also provided training in the prevention of HIV/AIDS/STDs among “men having sex with men” (MSM).
Speaking at one of the workshops, Chief of the Dermatology and Venereology Department of the Ministry of Health, Aleksandr Navrotsky, emphasized the importance of preventive work. “Fresh statistical data testify to a decline in the incidence of sexually-transmitted infections among youths, especially in Minsk”, he said.
The workshops also provided information about the epidemiological situation in Belarus among MSM and sex-industry women workers and familiarized participants with ways of building a dialogue with representatives of the target groups, as well as on methods of treatment of HIV/AIDS/STDs.
"Working with sex-industry women, an expert should be able to convey precious knowledge and realize that while protecting commercial sex-workers, he protects society," noted gynecologist Alevtina Zayats, an outreach worker.
The project “HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment in the Republic of Belarus” is funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created as a partnership between governments, civil society and the private sector. Since its foundation in January 2002, the Global Fund has provided a total of more than $2.1 billion for the implementation of 227 programs in 122 countries across the world. The international technical assistance project, HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment in the Republic of Belarus, was launched in January 2005.
For further information please contact the coordinator of UNDP projects in Belarus, Anna Chernysheva, at telephone number 227-81-49, or the public relations adviser for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment in Belarus project, Olga Satsuk, at 8-029-403-96-44.
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