HIV/AIDS- is not a problem of individuals, but of all society: poor and rich, foreigners and locals, men and women, the elderly as well as children and youth, politicians, businesspeople and workers, military personnel, those who believe in God and those who do not.

Caritas Ukraine became active in the sphere of HIV/AIDS in 2003 through two separate projects.  The project ‛Mutual Support Group for HIV-infected Individuals and Their Families“ was conducted jointly with the Sheptytsky Hospital in Lviv, and more focused on psychological support. In time, the need evolved for medical examination and treatment for those infected, resulting in tight cooperation with HIV service organizations in Lviv. Currently, the Main Administration of Health Care, the Oblast AIDS Center and NGOs have signed a ‛Memorandum of Cooperation o the Prevention of an HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Lviv Oblast“.

Within the framework of the project ‛Joint Financing of Home Health Care for the Elderly and Persons Living with HIV/AIDS“, psychological, social and medical guidance is provided to 59 families with children born HIV-positive. Thanks to the Tro?aire Foundation (Ireland) and TACIS, Caritas Ukraine has been able to provide home care support for children living with AIDS in Donetsk.

Home care and assistance to patients, limited in their movement and unable to take care of themselves as a result of HIV/AIDS progression, is critical. The main goal of Caritas organizations in Kyiv, Donetsk, Odesa - is to improve the quality of life for those living with AIDS and HIV-positive children through the creation of medical-social centres. Caritas employees provide a complex of medical and social services to patients and their families. Staff and family members attend regular trainings on appropriate behaviour and relations with HIV/AIDS patients, and assist them in the terminal stages of their disease. Lobbying the interest of patients at various governmental institutions is also a priority of the project.

In Kyiv, Donetsk and Odesa, the medical- social centres are equipped with the essentials needed to conduct the work set out by the project.  Staff meetings, general assemblies, work meetings with partner organizations, as well as patient consultation all take place at the centre. In addition, these canters provide those involved in the project with the opportunity to meet, and provide each other with mutual psychological support.

 Caritas Ukraine plans to expand its work in HIV/AIDS to include the following new dimensions:
- Conducting educational seminars- trainings for priests. The stigma of living with HIV/AIDS in smaller towns and villages is particularly harsh; however priests enjoy the trust and confidence of the people, and are considered the authority on most subjects. During confession, people open up to priests, confide their problems, so it is important that priests react appropriately and assist the person in finding qualified help. This is particularly crucial for those who have worked abroad, and upon their return home, are concerned how not to infect other members of their family.
- Conducting prevention activities among students in schools.
- Regular humane and medical care for HIV-positive homeless people (adults and children), refugees and those released from prisons.
- Hospice and palliative care for AIDS patients in the terminal stage.