Registered in June 2001, Humanitarian Action Fund (HAF) is an assignee of “Medicines du Monde — France” and is responsible for the medical and social programs that “Medicines du Monde — France” had initiated in St. Petersburg since 1995.

Mission and goals:

The overall goal of HAF is to keep the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic under control and minimize its social, health, economic, gender and security-related consequences.

HAF bases its work on the “low threshold principle” by contributing to the implementation of basic rights and interests among those populations with the least access to services and the greatest need for advocacy. Goals include reduction of the number of new registered cases of HIV and other socially significant diseases; violence prevention; improvement of access to comprehensive medical, social and psychological assistance; and social integration of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), homeless and neglected children and young adults , injection drug users (IDU), women at risk including commercial sex-workers (CSW).

Target groups:

• People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

• Homeless and neglected children and youth (15.000-20.000 in St. Petersburg)

• Injection drug users (120.000-150.000 in St. Petersburg)

• Women at risk and Commercial sex workers (about 8.000 of women are involved in street sex work in St. Petersburg)

• Staff of governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in work with the target groups listed above

Program Activities:

• HIV and other socially significant diseases prevention

• Violence, crime and discrimination prevention

• Improving access to comprehensive medical, social and psychological assistance for representatives of our target groups

• Train experts from governmental and non-governmental organizations on issues related to working with the HAF’s target groups

Geography of activities

St. Petersburg, however the program Training Center extends its activities to other regions of the Russian Federation and countries of Baltic and Commonwealth of Independent States.

Currently Humanitarian Action implements the following programs:

Street children of St. Petersburg

Purpose: To provide street children with assistance in accessing comprehensive medical, psychological and social help and help minimize the negative consequences associated with life in the street.

Coordinator: Alexey Volkov

HIV/AIDS Prevention and Rights Protection among Injection Drug Users/BUS

Purpose:To decrease the number of new registered cases of HIV, viral hepatitis and other socially significant diseases. Human Rights protection and Crime prevention among injection drug users.

The Programm’s activities are focused on IDUs and bridging population which is at high risk of HIV infection.

Coordinator: Alexander Komarovskiy

HIV/AIDS and Violence Prevention among Women at Risk/MINIVAN

Purpose: To decrease the number of new registered cases of HIV, viral hepatitis and other socially significant diseases among commercial sex workers; women living with HIV/AIDS including those who are IDUs; pregnant women and mothers living with HIV/AIDS. Prevention of discrimination, violence and trafficking in members of target group.

The Programm’s activities are focused on target groups including women and girls both affected by or at high risk of HIV/AIDS and domestic or sexual violence and human trafficking.

Coordinators: Anna Ivanova, Igor Lupinov

Provision of Access to Medical Services for Injection Drug Users and Women at Risk

Joint program of Humanitarian Action and City Infectious Hospital #30 (Botkin Hospital) Purpose: To provide comprehensive medical, psychological and social assistance for injection drug users; commercial sex workers; women living with HIV/AIDS including those who are IDUs; pregnant women and mothers living with HIV/AIDS as well as to prevent HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually-transmitted infections and other socially significant diseases.
Coordinators: Bladimir Musatov, Eugeniy Karnaukhov

Training Center

Purpose: To expand the use of best practices derived from Humanitarian Action’s expertise in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other socially significant diseases prevention and to promote intersectorial cooperation.

Coordinator: Oxana Chernenko