Resilience amid conflict: AHF Ukraine's continuity and expansion of medical services

Medical Degree (2012) and Infectious Diseases Residency (2015), MSc (2023). Researcher with the Fiocruz and CCASAnet/ IDEA network with a focus on women living with HIV and syphilis. Currently works for Aids Healthcare Foundation/AHF, as Associate Global Medical Director.

Medical Degree (2012) and Infectious Diseases Residency (2015), MSc (2023). Researcher with the Fiocruz and CCASAnet/ IDEA network with a focus on women living with HIV and syphilis. Currently works for Aids Healthcare Foundation/AHF, as Associate Global Medical Director.

Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina has been working as a Country Program Director for AHF Ukraine since 2012. After graduating from the medical university, she worked as an infectious disease doctor for HIV positive people at the in-patient’s department of Kyiv Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases for 12 years. Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina is one of the first doctors who pioneered the establishment of HIV services in Ukraine.
Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina shows effective planning, management and organization of country programmes. Under Dr. Yaroslava's leadership, her own services for key and vulnerable populations have been opened and are successfully functioning: the clinic for PLHIV in Odessa, the Wellness Center (STI clinic) in Odessa, and Checkpoint in Lviv. These facilities provide screening, diagnosis, and treatment services for HIV and other STIs free of charge.

Dr. Kseniia Voronova is a medical doctor specializing in infectious diseases, with over 15 years of experience in HIV/AIDS. Since January 2022, she has served as an Advocacy and Marketing Specialist at AHF. Dr. Voronova is actively involved in HIV research, focusing on prevention strategies.
In her role, Dr. Voronova leads advocacy efforts in Ukraine, collaborating with partners to design evidence-based interventions for HIV prevention. She works closely with community organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers to ensure culturally sensitive and sustainable interventions. Dr. Voronova's dedication to improving public health outcomes underscores her commitment to combating HIV/AIDS.

Ricardo Fernandes is the Executive Director of GAT Portugal, a group dedicated to supporting people from communities that are most vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. The organization provides peer-led HIV and sexual health services, alongside with national and international advocacy.

Ricardo pursued a career on health activism after graduating with a degree in Modern Languages and Literature from de Faculty of Arts at the University of Lisbon. He has worked at several Portuguese NGOs in the HIV field sine 2000, mainly in project and services coordination. He is the former Chair of the European Aids Treament Group (EATG), and co-organiser of several Portuguese conferences and co-author of studies and articles on HIV stigma, diagnosis and late presenting.

Medical Degree (2012) and Infectious Diseases Residency (2015), MSc (2023). Researcher with the Fiocruz and CCASAnet/ IDEA network with a focus on women living with HIV and syphilis. Currently works for Aids Healthcare Foundation/AHF, as Associate Global Medical Director.

Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina has been working as a Country Program Director for AHF Ukraine since 2012. After graduating from the medical university, she worked as an infectious disease doctor for HIV positive people at the in-patient’s department of Kyiv Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases for 12 years. Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina is one of the first doctors who pioneered the establishment of HIV services in Ukraine.
Dr. Yaroslava Lopatina shows effective planning, management and organization of country programmes. Under Dr. Yaroslava's leadership, her own services for key and vulnerable populations have been opened and are successfully functioning: the clinic for PLHIV in Odessa, the Wellness Center (STI clinic) in Odessa, and Checkpoint in Lviv. These facilities provide screening, diagnosis, and treatment services for HIV and other STIs free of charge.

Dr. Kseniia Voronova is a medical doctor specializing in infectious diseases, with over 15 years of experience in HIV/AIDS. Since January 2022, she has served as an Advocacy and Marketing Specialist at AHF. Dr. Voronova is actively involved in HIV research, focusing on prevention strategies.
In her role, Dr. Voronova leads advocacy efforts in Ukraine, collaborating with partners to design evidence-based interventions for HIV prevention. She works closely with community organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers to ensure culturally sensitive and sustainable interventions. Dr. Voronova's dedication to improving public health outcomes underscores her commitment to combating HIV/AIDS.

Ricardo Fernandes is the Executive Director of GAT Portugal, a group dedicated to supporting people from communities that are most vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. The organization provides peer-led HIV and sexual health services, alongside with national and international advocacy.

Ricardo pursued a career on health activism after graduating with a degree in Modern Languages and Literature from de Faculty of Arts at the University of Lisbon. He has worked at several Portuguese NGOs in the HIV field sine 2000, mainly in project and services coordination. He is the former Chair of the European Aids Treament Group (EATG), and co-organiser of several Portuguese conferences and co-author of studies and articles on HIV stigma, diagnosis and late presenting.