Andrey Rylkov Foundation is a small community based organization and the only organization that provides harm reduction, HIV prevention and human rights protection to people who use drugs in Moscow. We continue to work since 2009, despite the governmental opposition to harm reduction, without an office and with only 4 people in staff and about 15-20 activists working part time or on voluntary basis.
While Russians official drug policy and attitude to NGOs becomes tougher, our services continue to develop and we are able to help people and save many lives through our every day work.
Lord Norman Fowler (MP, former Secretary of State for Social Services, UK) who had recently visited Russia and went out with our outreach team to meet with drug users was inspired by our work. He said: I have no hesitation in endorsing the work of the Andrey Rylkov Foundation. It is vastly important that there is an organization like this working in Moscow to reduce HIV among people who use drugs in Russia often in very difficult circumstances. ARF brings help to people who are in real need and who rely on them. It is crucial that their work which I have seen in Russia should continue and develop.
In 2014 we were able to make 2,376 outreach contacts, and distribute 82.000 sterile needles and syringes, we have also provided counseling and testing for HIV, hepatitis, TB. Referred people to drug treatment and HIV treatment, provided education on overdose prevention to almost 300 people and provided over 2000 ampules of live-saving Naloxone, that prevents lethal overdose. We have received at least Two Hundred Twenty Three reports of Lives Saved with Naloxone! You can read our annual report for 2014 here. We continue our work on providing legal aid to drug users (Street Lawyers project) and started to explore some new directions of our work, such as working with families and children of people who use drugs.
To keep our services going we need funding. While we expect to receive support within a new Global Fund HIV program in June – July, we need to hold out until then and at the moment our supplies are running low.
Starting at 9am EDT on May 13th, Global Giving – the platform we use to crowd-fund our harm reduction work – is matching all the donations on our project! Every online donation of up to $1,000 made on that day will be increased by the Global Giving donors! You can donate any time between 9am EDT and midnight to have your donation partially matched by GlobalGiving – guaranteed! Just click here and support our work on May 13th.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Sincerely yours,
The team of the Andrey Rylkov Foundation