A working meeting of members of the National NGO Forum working in the area of HIV/AIDS in Russia was held on March 3-5, 2010 in Moscow with UNAIDS support. Representatives of NGOs from Primorye, Kaliningrad, Nizhniy Novgorod, Kazan, Orenburg, Rostov-on-the-Don, Saint Petersburg, Saratov, Togliatti, Ulyanovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Samara, Pskov, Nalchik, Volgograd, Barnaul, and Moscow took part in it.    

 

Each NGO has its own focus, audience, and strengths. For example, NGO Doctors for Children from Saint Petersburg is focused on providing medical assistance to children, their colleagues from public organization Young Doctors of Don from Rostov-on-the-Don work with higher education students on HIV prevention, Togliatti organization Parents Against Drugs chose fighting against drugs in schools and outreach work among teenagers as its priority, Society of HIV Positive People and People Living with AIDS “Positive Dialogue” from Saint Petersburg provides counseling and palliative assistance to people living with HIV.  

 

The meeting aimed at coming to common understanding of situation in the area of HIV prevention among most at risk groups and design of a vision, a strategy, and priority strategic goals for NGO Forum work in the nearest few years. Meeting participants were concerned by decrease of funding for HIV prevention programmes. Special attention in discussion was paid to an overview of situation on HIV prevention among most at risk groups and an increase of new cases of HIV infection expected due to it. Representatives of NGO Forum discussed and considered possibilities of NGO participation in work with hard to reach and most at risk groups.

A work plan of NGO Forum for 2010-2012 in compliance with defined strategic priorities was designed based on outcomes of the meeting.