For the past decade Ukraine has had one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world. Prevalence in eastern Ukraine is about much higher than rates in the rest of the country. Over 6,000 people living with HIV in separatist-controlled Donbass struggle with shortage of medicine and doctors. The number living with HIV could be much higher.
HIV infection is on the rise, as pro-Russian separatists who govern the region have also banned most international medical organizations from delivering aid and gathering accurate information about the situation.
In Ukrainian controlled territory, the situation is aggravated by the number of internally displaced people and thousands of demobilized soldiers returning to their families with PTSD — in the past year there has been a significant rise in violence against women.
In families, where both or one partner also lives with HIV, it has been particularly hard — HIV discrimination and stigma are still common.
More than a year into the war, displaced women and children with HIV still struggle to find accommodations and long-term employment.
This story was produced with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
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