By the end of 2018, national HIV programme data showed that approximately 40 per cent of all people living with HIV in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and 30 per cent in Tajikistan, reported a history of injecting drug use or were currently injecting drugs. The increasing number of people injecting synthetic cathinones (“bath salts”) and other non-opioid drugs poses an additional challenge to HIV prevention efforts. Central Asia is located on the trafficking route from Afghanistan to Europe, which makes opioids relatively accessible and leads to high rates of use. Therefore, despite the progress and commitments, reaching effective epidemic control is unlikely to be achieved by 2020 in Central Asia. There are many factors that continue to fuel and facilitate HIV epidemics and hinder effective responses. Nonetheless, according to the nationally reported data, as of October 2019, the proportion of estimated PLWH with suppressed viremia in the region remains well below the desired target of 73 per cent needed to turn the curve of the HIV epidemic (Graph 1, below). 2 In recent years, all three countries have made substantial progress in ensuring that more people are tested for HIV and begin ART. The most recent UNAIDS estimates show that in 2018 there were 26,000 people living with HIV in Kazakhstan, 8,500 in Kyrgyzstan, and 13,000 in Tajikistan. In addition, the mayors of three large cities-Almaty in Kazakhstan, and Bishkek and Osh in Kyrgyzstan-have committed to putting cities on the fast-track to ending the HIV epidemic. The second goal is to reduce the number of new HIV infections the third-to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The first is ensuring that people living with HIV live long and healthy lives, which means that all of them would know their HIV status, receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) and have undetectable levels of viremia (suppressed viral load). ![]() Given the lack of reliable data on people living with HIV in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, this article will focus on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.īy signing the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on ending AIDS, 1 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have declared their commitment to accelerate efforts towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, which implies reaching three key goals. The current HIV epidemics and national HIV control programmes in Central Asian countries share many similarities, although there are also differences. In 2019, the region celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of HIV services, which were established in 1989 in the Republics of the former Soviet Union. The five countries that make up Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan-have a total population of more than 60 million and considerable ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |