In light of the established visibility and professional service provided by the hotline, it is not recommended to establish additional hotlines to provide basic information on HIV/AIDS at the regional level. Instead, capacity of the national hotline should be developed and sustained with support from the Government. The hotline should also be better publicized at the local level as a reliable source of general HIV/AIDS information, including for regionallyspecific enquiries. However, the Government of Ukraine should develop and maintain a separate national website for HIV/AIDS, featuring official data and the latest information. Public HIV education initiatives have benefitted from considerable interest and some partnership with the private sector. The private sector has sponsored special events and supported the development and broadcast of public service announcements aimed at condom promotion. However, the lessons learned in this area have not been formally evaluated, and few public-private partnerships have been sustained and developed. Main Recommendations Immediate: MR.4.2.9
Ensure gradual increase of Government support and funding for national hotline in new the National AIDS Programme
Short-term: Develop a coordinated, multisectoral IEC/BCC strategy that specifies clear targets and messages for public awareness and education campaigns MR.4.2.11 Focus public awareness and education campaigns where they have a significant outcome – on reduction of stigma and discrimination and behaviour change directed and changing societal norms related to risk behaviour MR.4.2.12 Government of Ukraine should develop and maintain a national website for HIV/AIDS Medium-Term: MR.4.2.13 Ukrainian State Committee for Radio and Television should make issuance / renewal of all broadcast licenses contingent on agreement to provide free airtime for HIV and AIDS quality-assured public service announcements, including during prime-time MR.4.2.10
Public Activities / Charity and Special Events Public activities, charitable and special events, such as the Race for Life, International AIDS Memorial Day and World AIDS Day have helped to raise and sustain public attention on HIV in Ukraine. However, these events have often been planned and implemented in an hoc manner, with little continuity between events or across years. For example, the Race for Life charity marathon in Kyiv was one of the highest profile annual public AIDS events in Ukraine from 2001 to 2006, organized by the United Nations, in collaboration with an extensive range of governmental, non-governmental and private sector partners. While the event did not generate significant charitable donations for AIDS, the event was highly successful in mobilizing partners around the only annual public event in Ukraine dedicated to AIDS. It is considered to be a shortcoming of the United Nations in Ukraine to have discontinued this event, and not taken adequate measures to ensure it was maintained by other partners. Other high–profile public events, such as World AIDS Day concerts organized by Lilia Podkopaeva’s Foundation or the high profile public concert by Elton John in Kyiv in June 2007 have been essential to ensure that AIDS remains on the political agenda and a focus of public attention. These events are also recognized for having been successfully conducted independent of external donor or Government funding. In mid-2005, stakeholders made a correct decision to discontinue funding for public events and awareness activities from Phase 2 of the Global Fund Round 1 grant, which has since remained more focused on prevention among MARPs. 85