The number of HIV infected people in Ukraine, according to the „USAID Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2008“, amounts around 440.000 people. The region and city with the highest rates of prevalence is Odessa, where an estimated number of 70.000 HIV infected people live. A worrying perspective is the number of approximately 300 new infections per month. The insufficient medical and curative treatment of people living with HIV&AIDS within the framework of the Ukrainian health system is moreover highlighted in the report „Abuses in the Health Care System, 2008“ by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The reasons listed are, e.g. insufficient provision of medicines, badly educated medical staff, lack of linkages between prevention- and treatment measures, as well as shortage of well equipped clinics.

Ukraine became independent in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. A membership of the EU stands as a wish high on the Agenda. The estimated age of living for men in the Ukraine is 63 years, for the women it is 74 years, which is highly below the average in Western Europe. Moreover, the country lack a compulsory health insurance of state, leading to that many people cannot afford costly operations.