The Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) partnered with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University (CIRA) to launch a new Joint Pilot Call for research on the syndemics of HIV/AIDS and noncommunicable diseases (NCD) in high-burden countries for HIV/AIDS. Two awards of up to $15,000 were provided in the inaugural year of the new partnership.
This year’s YIGH funded Eteri Machavariani, MD, MPH, a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Machavariani’s project aims to explore challenges faced by internally-displaced people who inject drugs accessing Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) in Ukraine. The study will inform interventions for sustainable HIV prevention and guide international conflict response strategies. Read more about the project below.
Individuals with health conditions often face exacerbated challenges during conflict as their access to life-saving treatment or medications can be compromised. We hope that the lessons learned from our project will contribute to improving healthcare access for vulnerable populations in conflict settings,”
Eteri Machavariani, MD, MPH
People facing healthcare service access and delivery disruption in conflict settings exacerbates health disparities and compromises access to HIV preventive services like opioid agonist therapies. The project aims to elucidate challenges faced by displaced people who inject drugs in light of the intersecting epidemics of HIV, mental health, and substance in a conflict setting and is in line with CIRA’s mission of advancing health equity and social justice. The project will be led by the next generation of HIV researcher, Dr. Machavariani, who strives to meaningfully contribute to making HIV prevention and treatment access equitable.