“…because the social work never ends”: a qualitative study exploring how NGOs responded to emerging needs while upholding responsibility to HIV prevention and treatment during the war in Ukraine

Introduction

Since the onset of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, the health system in Ukraine has been placed under tremendous pressure, with damage to critical infrastructure, large losses of human resources, restricted mobility and significant supply chain interruptions. Based on a longstanding partnership between the Ukrainian Institute for Social Research after Oleksandr Yaremenko (UISR after O. Yaremenko) and the Institute for Global Public Health at the University of Manitoba, we explore the impact of the full-scale war on non-governmental organizations (NGOs, including charitable organizations) providing services for key population groups in Ukraine.

Methods

We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with key representatives from NGOs working with key population groups (i.e., people living with HIV, sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and transgender people) throughout Ukraine. Members of the UISR after O. Yaremenko research team recruited participants from organizations working at national, regional and local levels. The research team members conducted 26 interviews (22 with women and four with men) between 15 May and 7 June 2023. Interviews were conducted virtually in Ukrainian and interpretively analysed to draw out key themes.

Results

Applying Roels et al.’s notion of “first responders”, our findings explore how the full-scale war personally and organizationally impacted workers at Ukrainian NGOs. Despite the impacts to participants’ physical and mental health, frontline workers continued to support HIV prevention and treatment while also responding to the need for humanitarian aid among their clients and the wider community. Furthermore, despite inadequate pay and compensation for their work, frontline workers assumed additional responsibilities, thereby exceeding their normal workload during the extraordinary conditions of war.

Conclusions

NGOs play a vital role as responders, adapting their services to meet the emergent needs of communities during structural shocks, such as war. There is an urgent need to support NGOs with adequate resources for key population service delivery and to increase support for their important role in humanitarian aid.