Make-or-break year in HIV prevention in Bulgaria: The “Goodwill” campaign

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Make-or-break year in HIV prevention in Bulgaria: The “Goodwill” campaign

19 March 2015

The Bulgarian parliament received a group of AIDS activists on the 13th of February 2015. The group was there to inform MPs about the imminent risk of Bulgaria completely losing its HIV prevention services after the end of this year. The country, which has since 2004 been a recipient of funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, is no longer eligible for such assistance, and 2015 is therefore the last year in which the cost of HIV prevention services in the country will be fully covered by the Global Fund. So far, the government of Bulgaria has not ensured funding mechanisms for maintaining the services after the withdrawal of the international donor in 2016.

There is a real threat of the cessation of all the programs currently working among vulnerable communities, and providing them with essential services such as needle exchange, condom distribution, and HIV testing. The activists who visited Parliament represented 34 NGOs working in the area of HIV prevention and psychosocial care for affected people. In November 2014, the NGOs prepared a Manifesto (read below) warning about the danger of HIV spreading in the country, and demanding urgent adequate measures from the government. The Manifesto was presented to members of parliament during the NGOs' action in Sofia.

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