Project title

The main goal of the project is to increase accessibility to HIV/AIDS prevention and care services for the risk group members.

Project objectives:

• To create functional, efficient mobile unit for outreach work with risk groups in the risk group gathering places.
• To build and keep relations with new sex workers and IDUs, their partners and family members and to provide them with information about harm reduction, health care, accessibility of social services and to reduce drug use.
• To provide secondary syringe exchange services and prevention commodities to the risk group members in their gathering places.
• To send, direct, motivate sex workers/IDUs to test and consult for HIV and STI, to involve them into rehabilitation, re-socialization, pharmacotherapy programmes.
• Organize trainings "Patients schools" and provide information about the consequences of the risky behaviour and to teach safer behaviour skills, to promote healthier life style and to reduce drug use.
• To ensure better work conditions for street workers, to collect data and to analyze it.
• To organize trainings for staff.

Association of HIV Affected Women and Their Intimates "Demetra" implementing the project had reached the commercial sex workers / injecting drug users (CSW/IDUs) in the "hidden" station (Sodų str.) and other Vilnius City areas (Pulimo and Kalvarijų str.). They received information on health care, social and legal service accessibility. Those CSW/IDUs who are not willing or not ready yet to stop using drugs could receive harm reduction services (they were provided with syringes, condoms, and lubricants). CSW/IDUs were motivated to stop using drugs and to reduce their risky behaviour, they were sent for testing and if needed for treatment. The changes in risky behaviour related to injecting drug use and sexual behaviour were monitored, and health care as well as social needs were evaluated.

Target group members participated in trainings "Client's school" and gained knowledge and skills related to dependencies, HIV and STI prevention, risky behaviour change to safer. Another effect of the training is a possibility to lose touch with the street life, to establish relationships with real individuals who changed their lifestyle and settled in the society (reduced risky behaviour, have job, created a family, etc.)

During the project period the number of individuals who receive mobile services had increased, the new relationships were established and maintained with young (16-24 year old) CSW/IDUs, who have never approached health care institutions and had never participated in the harm reduction services.

During the mobile raids the following information on target group was collected: general information (date of birth, gender, etc.), social - demographic data, data on psychoactive substance use, and data on risky behaviour. This information helps to evaluate the drug use peculiarities, knowledge, risky behaviour, accessibility to health care and social services and legal consultations.

In total 1199 information and consultation services and 115 intermediation and representation services were provided, as well 120 "Client's school" health trainings took place.

Main indicators:

• Number of distributed needles and syringes - 16081;
• Number of distributed condoms - 15652;
• Number of distributed spirit sponges - 16271;
• Number of distributed lubricants - 3022;
• Number of consultations provided - 1199;
• Number of HIV tested clients - 84;
• Number of individuals who received pre-testing consultations - 87;
• Number of individuals who received post-testing consultations - 63;
• Number of individuals who received information on harm reduction, HIV/AIDS prevention and care - 260;
• Number of "Client's school" participants - 120;
• Number of mobile raids - 97.

UNODC budget