By Marija Tosheva, HOPS
In late June, 2011 the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, hosted a meeting in Budapest for 30 delegates from the countries of Central and South East Europe (SWAN was also represented), with supporters from Western Europe, to launch the Network of Low Prevalence Countries in Central and South East Europe – NeLP (http://nelp-hiv.org/budapest-declaration).
The general conclusion of the delegates was that national governments and the general population in our region don’t yet see HIV as a major problem. With fewer people living with HIV, fewer supporters and fewer medical staff, the capacity to respond to HIV in our countries is muted. With less overall societal impact, the perceived need to respond is less urgent.