On World AIDS Day this 1 December, we join the United Nations in calling for community-driven efforts to end AIDS by emphasising community leadership in HIV plans, programmes, budgets, and healthcare access. Our Health and Social Development team is active in delivering collaborative technical assistance that has significantly impacted HIV prevention and accessibility to regional community healthcare services and structures.

In Pakistan, we recently partnered with the Ministry of National Health Services to revise nationwide blood safety laws, reducing transfusion-transmitted infections like HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Syphilis, and Malaria. This blood safety reform project, supported by financial and technical assistance of the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW and GIZ, included establishing 15 Regional Blood Centres and upgrading 73 hospital blood banks, ensuring a stable supply of safe blood for communities.

In Kyrgyzstan, supported by financial and technical assistance of the Federal Republic of Germany through KfW, our project team provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Health for the revision of blood safety standards and operation procedures nationwide. Additionally, 7 Regional Blood Centres were renovated and supplied with modern equipment, including 7 cars for mobile preparation and transportation of blood and blood products. Community outreach activities complemented these infrastructure and policy level activities. Overall, project activities contributed to the optimisation of blood services, and also to the reduction of transfusion-transmitted infections, such as HIV, Hepatitis B & C, and Syphilis. 

We’re pleased to support collaborative development-aid initiatives like these and others, taking an active role in supporting countries and communities in bringing an end to AIDS.