“Only 10% of adults ever test for HIV in Poland,” says Magdalena Ankiersztejn-Bartczak, PhD, director of the Foundation for Social Education. There is no access to HIV testing at general practitioners in the country, leading to many late diagnoses. To address this, they launched zamowtestnahiv.pl, a website where Poles can order HIV self-tests (or rapid tests) for free. These are antibody tests that can be used at home or in a private location, providing results within 20 minutes. With funding from CORE, Magdalena ordered 4,000 test kits, and within a few months, these free tests had already run out. Following the project’s success, the World Health Organisation donated an additional 10,000 self-tests to the organisation. Magdalena hopes that by demonstrating the need for this testing method, support and funding for it in Poland will rise.

“60% of people who use drugs who get tested have hepatitis C,” says Dominika Jašeková, director of the harm reduction organisation Odyseus in Slovakia. In Slovakia, hepatitis C treatment was not accessible. Prior to the law change on January 1st, 2023, individuals were required to have one year of abstinence and no outstanding debts in their health insurance to access treatment. Many people who use drugs faced significant debts, sometimes up to €10,000, which prevented them from receiving HCV or even HIV treatment. Now that the law has changed, Odyseus is working diligently to connect individuals to care: they provide testing and accompany those who test positive for HCV to hepatologists and infectologists, guiding them through each step of the process. The journey to treatment can be bureaucratic and challenging in Slovakia. Odyseus is utilising CORE resources for this life-saving work while also enhancing cooperation between harm reduction services and hepatology experts. In 2023, they conducted a research analysis on the provision of HCV treatment for people who use drugs in Slovakia and keep using the findings at conferences to improve collaboration in combating HCV in the country.

We are particularly happy to be part of the CORE project, to be able to escalate integrated testing among migrants in Sweden,” says Povi Foly Lawson from Noaks Ark Mozaik. In Sweden, the burden of HIV is higher among the migrant population, yet there is considerable stigma surrounding it. Of people living with HIV, 65% are of migrant background, and 80% arrived in Sweden already infected. Noaks Ark Mozaik aims to make HIV services more accessible to this key population and adapt them to their needs. They provide integrated testing services, screening for Hepatitis C and B in addition to HIV. They are using CORE funding to train, employ, and pay peer educators with migration experience, who are essential for reaching this population. They have already recruited a public health specialist and eleven peers who are actively conducting outreach. Without CORE, this initiative would not have been possible. Data already indicates an increase in outreach contacts and the number of tests conducted.

“We believe that testing is the key to ending the HIV epidemic,” says Mihai Lixandru from ARAS in Romania. Although HIV testing is free in Romania, it is not easily accessible for key populations. Some services are only available in the morning, which can be inconvenient for certain groups. ARAS employs peer-led and community-based testing, enabling many individuals who have never been tested to incorporate regular testing into their lives. CORE has facilitated ARAS in extending these services, allowing them to reach more people than ever before.

“Because of the current law on sex work in Greece, sex workers face a lot of stigma and discrimination, and are excluded from fundamental rights that other professions have,” explains Konstantina Papastefanaki from the Greek activist organisation Positive Voice. The law does not recognise online platforms as a legitimate form of sex work, only brothels. Additionally, brothels cannot be established within 200 metres of churches, schools, or public squares, making it challenging to find legal locations. The law even stipulates that sex workers cannot marry. According to Konstantina, improved legislation would prevent sex trafficking and violence, as well as reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Positive Voice is undertaking various actions to advocate for changes to sex work legislation. As part of CORE, they are organising a European event to present findings from an international research study investigating the challenges, stigma, and police violence faced by sex workers across Europe.

“With the help of CORE we would like to establish a new community-based testing site in Hungary,” says Bence Szabó from the Háttér Society. In Hungary, the number of newly diagnosed HIV cases is not decreasing. The newly diagnosed AIDS cases are rising. Háttér Society believes that testing is crucial to halting the rise of HIV infections in Hungary, and therefore they wish to open a new community-based testing site primarily serving LGBTQI individuals. CORE and the project’s partners are assisting Bence and Háttér in learning the best practices for testing and elements of advocacy. The funding also allows them to purchase test kits directly.

“We plan to make testing mainstream and make it into a habitual thing in Cyprus” says Yiannis Charilaou, from the AIDS Solidarity Movement. In Cyprus HIV and STI testing is not sought after enough by the population. The AIDS Solidarity Movement is cooperating with local community led organisations to scale up HIV testing on the island. The EU contribution in the form of CORE is very valuable because of lack of resources. It allowed the organisation to buy a second tent for outreach, to pay for transportation and other expenses of community health workers. The cooperation with other european organisations in this project also provided know-how to expand services to Hepatitis C and B testing.

“The idea is to scale up testing for HIV, hepatitis C and B, and syphilis, and also to improve linkage to care,” explains Mariana Vicente from GAT. Although Portugal offers free healthcare for all, there are still administrative barriers, particularly for undocumented migrants, many of whom fear seeking healthcare in a foreign country. CORE provides essential financial support to GAT in expanding testing services and linking key populations, such as migrants, to health care. GAT is also leading a work package within CORE, and Mariana views it as a valuable opportunity to assist other European organisations in scaling up testing, integrating peers into their services, and overcoming various barriers to achieving more effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care across Europe.