Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity

The Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM) is an international non-governmental membership association headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. It was founded in 2011 and formally registered in 2013, and it describes itself as a coalition open to non-profit organisations and activists working on the rights and health of LGBT communities in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. Its mission is to support the development of national LGBT+ communities and their activism, to advance human rights, and to care for the health and social well-being of people of diverse gender and sexuality across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. ECOM operates as a regional network rather than a single-issue service provider. Its stated goals for 2022–2026 include securing stable and active attention to LGBT+ health and human rights in national and international policies and programmes — including the funding and technical support needed for community organisations to develop — protecting sexual and mental health (including in relation to HIV, STIs and related issues), and developing ECOM itself as an influential international regional network of the LGBT+ community grounded in human rights and good governance practice. On its website ECOM presents itself as a coalition uniting people and organisations, with member countries across the region and participation in projects in the EECA region. Its public work includes legal aid, emergency support for activists and community leaders in crisis situations, grant-making and partnership programmes, and a resource library. Among the topics it publishes on are HIV prevention, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and community-led responses to HIV. It has worked with partners such as Aidsfonds, which announced the ActHIVate grant competition for Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova, described by ECOM as a new co-financing mechanism to strengthen community-led HIV responses, including for trans* communities. ECOM also produces annual reports; its 2025 annual report is presented as a chronicle of a year that tested communities in the EECA region, combining stories of resilience, figures and community voices. The organisation's framing emphasises that the human-rights situation for LGBT people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has become increasingly unstable, with discriminatory laws adopted in various countries and growing pressure on LGBT communities and organisations. ECOM positions itself as a support structure for those communities — providing legal assistance, crisis support, grants information and knowledge resources — and as an advocate for their inclusion in national and international health and human-rights policy.

ECOM — the Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity — was founded in 2011 and officially registered in 2013. It is an international non-governmental membership association located in Tallinn, Estonia, open to non-profit organisations and activists working in the field of LGBT community rights and health in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region. From its formation, ECOM framed itself as a coalition rather than a single organisation: a network through which national LGBT+ groups and activists across the region could coordinate, share knowledge and advocate collectively. Its mission, as stated on its website, is to support the development of national LGBT communities and their activism, to promote human rights, and to care for the health and social well-being of people of diverse gender and sexuality in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Over time ECOM has organised its work around a set of strategic goals, including for the 2022–2026 period: ensuring stable and active attention to LGBT+ health and human rights in national and international policies and programmes, including the necessary funding and technical support for community organisations in the EECA region; protecting sexual and mental health, including in relation to HIV, STIs and other issues; and developing ECOM itself as an influential international regional network of the LGBT+ community based on human rights and good governance practices. ECOM's public activity has included legal aid, emergency support for activists and community leaders in crisis situations, and the dissemination of information about grant opportunities. It has partnered with organisations such as Aidsfonds, which announced the ActHIVate grant competition for Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova — described by ECOM as a new co-financing mechanism to strengthen community-led HIV responses, including for trans* communities. ECOM also maintains a resource library covering topics such as HIV prevention, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and community-led health responses, and it publishes annual reports; its 2025 annual report is presented as a chronicle of a year that tested communities in the EECA region, combining stories of resilience, figures and community voices. Throughout its work, ECOM has highlighted that the human-rights situation for LGBT people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has become increasingly unstable, with discriminatory laws adopted in various countries and growing pressure on LGBT communities and organisations. This context shapes ECOM's role as a support structure and advocacy network for the region's LGBT+ communities.

• 2025

  ECOM publishes its 2025 annual report.

• 2022

  ECOM's stated goals and objectives for the 2022–2026 period are set out.

• 2013

  ECOM is officially registered.

• 2011

  ECOM is founded.

A regional membership coalition and support network for LGBT+ communities and activists in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, combining legal aid, crisis support, grant information and human-rights advocacy.

• Legal aid

  Legal assistance provided by ECOM.

• Crisis support for activists and community leaders

  Support for activists and community leaders in crisis situations.

• Resource library

  A library of materials on topics such as health, HIV prevention and PrEP.

• Annual report

  ECOM's yearly report on its work and the situation of communities in the region.

1. 1ECOMecom.ngo
2. 2Основная информация о EКOM - ECOMecom.ngo
3. 3Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversitywikidata.org