by John Klumpers

02 February 2007

Kiev, Ukraine: Czech-born Dagmar Kuzmová, 33, is certain of two things in her life – an unselfish desire to help others, and her passion for Ukraine. Hubert Topinka is no differernt. For over a decade he has invested his time and energy into causes important to him. Thanks to United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and the support from the Czech Republic those two volunteers, among others, worked directly with people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Ukraine, and helped raise awareness of the epidemic. “A HIV+ person could be me, you or your friend. If you think of it this way, perhaps you will have a different perspective and way of thinking about the issue,” Kuzmová says.

The AIDS epidemic is currently presenting the Eastern European country with challenges. The government’s official figure of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2006 topped 97,000. In its 2006 Report on the Global Aids Epidemic, UNAIDS places the figure at more than four times that number, or 410,000. That makes up 1.4% of the adult population.

Behind the alarming numbers are numerous groups who have much in common, at great risk because they are on society’s fringes: injecting drug users, sex workers and the incarcerated.

Yet dangers are not restricted to those groups alone according to the 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, “Ukraine presents a vivid example of how swiftly an HIV epidemic can move beyond most-at-risk populations and into the general population.” 

Similar to neighboring Russia, where 80% of persons with HIV are 15-30 years old, the epidemic in the Ukraine is hitting young people. In the first half of 2006, 41% of the new reported cases in Ukraine were women, most of them in their reproductive years.

Under the auspices of the UNDP Ukraine’s Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme (MGSDP), UNV volunteers from the Czech Republic have reached out to the youth population with prevention messages.

Hubert Topinka came to Kiev in November 2005. For over a decade before that, the 28-year-old adult education student was an active volunteer in the Czech Republic. Realizing his vast experience and his knowledge of Ukrainian would be beneficial; UNV recommended that he be sent to Kiev. There, Topinka coordinated with UNDP Ukraine to develop modules and teaching material to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS amongst school students.

Working together with local NGOs and authorities, international organizations, and the media, more than 15,000 students were directly and another 30,000 people indirectly reached in Ivano-Frankivsk and the cities of Rivne and Novohrad-Volynsky.

“When I came here in 2005, I think local governments were very hesitant in dealing with HIV/AIDS. I’d like to think that my work has encouraged the politicians to tackle this issue. It’s too serious not to,” he says.

Vladimir Gordeiko, manager of the Governance of HIV/AIDS Project with UNDP Ukraine, appreciates Topinka’s and the efforts of the other five Czech volunteers who have come to Ukraine and “contributed greatly” to the project.