Financial and administrative challenges in the Slovak Anti-Drug Fund threaten drug services in Slovakia with discontinuation of national funding. In July and August this year services operating needle exchange and outreach programs reviewed their budgets, continued negotiations with Anti-Drug Fund and started looking for alternative immediate ways to close funding gaps.

The Anti-Drug Fund, which manages funds for all drug services in the country, was found to use some 30.000 euros un-transparently in the last few years and therefore in April its funding was substantially cut. Though recently the Fund received all the funds to reallocate, it has decided to postpone all the harm-reduction programs, for unknown reasons. The Ministry of Social Affairs announced call for proposals for funding for injecting equipment and condoms only, but salaries and other operational costs remained unpaid. No funding is expected either from the Ministry of Health, which had never provided funds for harm reduction services at all.

Once praised for good practices in reaching the underserved people, like injecting drug users (IDUs), sex workers, Roma and youth, NGO Odyseus together with six other harm reduction NGOs in Slovakia can soon be forced close down due to the funding problems. One organization already ceased its operations in the beginning of July. Odyseus has funds to fully operate till September after spending all the saved money. Odyseus alone estimates a gap of 23.000 euros in order to operate till the end of the year.

Antidrug Fund is going to decide whether harm-reduction organizations are going to be financially supported in late September. But if so, this funding is going to be extended till December and after that there is going to be another “financial gap” due to a gap in the system of national financing of harm-reduction in Slovakia. For this year Odyseus was partially financed from 2 City districts, Bratislava self-governing region, Municipality of the Capital City Bratislava and modest private sponsorship.

Nowadays 7 harm reduction organizations in Slovakia reach approximately 21% of the estimated IDUs population. The coverage is much beyond the 60%-level recommended by the World Health Organization and the commitments made in the Dublin Declaration on HIV/AIDS and a number of other declarations. The country cannot rely on international funding: Slovakia is since 2004 an EU Member state and is classified as upper-middle class country. As a result, almost all donors have left the country. At the present it is difficult to even maintain the existing services, not even contemplating the establishment of new ones.

Slovakia has still low estimated prevalence of HIV, but has its border with Ukraine, which has one of the world’s highest growing epidemics of HIV and hepatitis C.

Since 1998 Odyseus has provided the services for injecting drug users and for the people offering sexual services through Protect Yourself Program. This program has been continually carrying out its activities since 1998; since 2002 has been ensuring the low threshold syphilis and (later) HIV antibody testing for vulnerable groups, despite of significant expenses. Project of testing within the outreach program is nowadays the only one in Slovakia, but due to financial reasons, is now operating irregularly.

Odyseus, as the largest harm reduction organization in Slovakia, distributes 145.000 needles, 11.000 condoms and other material per year. Odyseus makes cca 6.000 contacts with 1500 clients from communities vulnerable to HIV and hepatitis C and other cca4500 contacts with young people (drug counseling, syphilis testing and HIV/STDs prevention).

Odyseus` budget is 182.000 Euros/year and it is impossible to finance all the services only from small support from the City budget or (hard-to-find) sponzorship.

Any ideas for possible financial support would be very much appreciated. Please contact Peter Lazovy at lazovy@ozodyseus.sk. Thank you!

HIV/AIDS in Slovakia-report produced as part of INTEGRATION Projects- find here