Today, Bishkek, the capital of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, has signed the Paris Declaration, thus becoming the first Central Asian Capital to join the Fast Track Cities Initiative: Ending the AIDS Epidemic by 2030. Signing of the Declaration stimulates cities to achieve 90-90-90 goals, offering to strategically partner key populations, providing sustainable access to HIV testing services, treatment and prevention, and fighting stigma and discrimination.
“I am pleased to be here today on behalf of the entire community of people living with HIV in Kyrgyzstan,” says Yevgeny Yuldashev, a peer consultant of AFEW Kyrgyzstan. “Often we are invisible, or society pretend that they don’t see us, or they don’t want to see us. But we exist, we are people too, we also deserve to live happily. The signing of the Paris Declaration today, I hope, will draw the attention of the mayor’s office and other officials to the problems of HIV-positive people.”
“For us, this is a very important event, for our city, for the whole country. This initiative is very relevant in general for large cities. Bishkek is the administrative, cultural and scientific center of the country. Improving the health and well-being of the citizens is the most important task of our municipality, ” – said Tatyana Kuznetsova, vice mayor of the city of Bishkek, in her speech.
The signing ceremony of the Paris Declaration was held in the Bishkek City Hall and was organized with the support of AFEW Kyrgyzstan, who is implementing the project “St. Petersburg and Bishkek: Key Groups and Priorities for HIV and TB Prevention” in Kyrgyzstan.
