Ukraine's AIDS epidemic -- one of the fastest-growing in the world -- has brought experts to Winnipeg looking for help.
"This is the first time organizations fighting HIV/AIDS in Ukraine have gathered to talk about how to stem the tide," said Terry Duguid, president and CEO of the International Centre for Infectious Diseases, which organized the event.
International Centre for Infectious Diseases President and CEO Terry Duguid shares a traditional greeting of bread and salt.
Of Ukraine's 46 million residents, an estimated 344,000 are living with HIV/AIDS. The former Soviet state has reported more annual AIDS deaths than any other European country. Injection drug use is still driving the spread of HIV but, more and more often, mothers are passing it on to their babies and younger people are spreading the virus through unprotected sex. Close to 80 per cent of those infected are young.
The spread of the disease hits too close to home for Canadians with strong ties to Ukraine.
"It's a growing pandemic that's on the cusp of becoming a major outbreak," said Yarko Petryshyn, national vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Students Union. He's attending the forum to get more information and find ways local grassroots groups can help.
Winnipeg is the logical location for the gathering, Duguid said.
"Winnipeg is blessed with some of the finest infectious disease specialists in the world."
Manitoba is home to the largest Ukrainian community in Canada, numbering 130,000 people. Many have strong ties to and a tradition of helping Ukraine, said the head of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
"When the Soviet Union fell apart, government-run health-care budgets went through the floor," Ostap Skrypnyk said. "A lot of community groups got involved in projects helping hospitals with getting pharmaceuticals and old equipment like hospital beds."
Skrypnyk said he thinks some older and church-related groups might be uncomfortable addressing the issue of AIDS in Ukraine. He's confident younger and more-educated Ukrainian Canadians will step up to help out.
"There are horrible examples of how this can go through a population very quickly," Skrypnyk said. He pointed to countries in Africa where the HIV/AIDS epidemic unchecked became a crisis that decimated populations, in contrast to countries that were able to take action.
"In North America and Western Europe, it's not the death sentence it used to be. That's what makes it hopeful for Ukraine," Skrypnyk said. "Part of the work is preparing the groundwork for a counter-offensive to HIV/AIDS in Ukraine."
Experts from Ukraine like Dr. Alla Scherbynska will tell the forum today about the challenges Ukraine faces in dealing with the epidemic. Dr. Jamie Blanchard, a University of Manitoba researcher with international expertise, will talk about possible prevention strategies.
"Canada has a major role to play in this," Petryshyn said. "This is what Canada is known for."
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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