From early 2018, HIV rapid testing in Kazakhstan will be available based in the non-governmental organizations (NGOs). With the President of Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV and the ‘Kazakhstan Union of People Living with HIV’ Nurali Amanzholov we are talking about advantages, mechanisms and preparatory work associated with this innovative step in fighting HIV.
Board Chair of AFEW International Jeffrey V. Lazarus has recently become one of the 2017 HCV Change Makers from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The Change Makers programme recognises 18 Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) innovators doing exemplary work in the programme’s three thematic areas: multi-stakeholder approaches; screening; and technology. Their ground-breaking efforts can inspire and guide their peers on the path to HCV elimination. The programme also aims to spark debate and action on HCV policy and access to care.
According to the UNAIDS estimates, there is around 1.5 million people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan registered 348 new cases of HIV infection in Tajikistan in the first half of 2017. There is a compulsory rule for newly married couples in Tajikistan now: the couple has to submit not only the application for marriage to the registry office, but also the results of a comprehensive medical examination, including the test on HIV. Authorities believe that these measures will facilitate the creation of strong families and the birth of healthy children.
Today, 3,055 people in Kyrgyzstan receive ART. It makes 56% of all patients who are aware of their disease and 35% from the estimated amount of people living with HIV. According to the UNAIDS goals, the country has three years left to achieve the 90% treatment coverage of people diagnosed with HIV.
During the meeting, 50 representatives of state, public and international organizations from Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Khatlon and Sughd Region, and the city of Dushanbe talked about the interaction of state and public organizations in providing integrated and coordinated services to key populations in the field of HIV, TB/HIV.
The project ‘Improved TB/HIV Prevention & Care – Building Models for the Future’ is aimed at increasing government recognition of the role and quality of the non-public sector for TB/HIV service delivery, providing TB/HIV services according to agreed standards, encouraging civil society to be the active participant in monitoring quality of services, ensuring that clients have affordable options and trust in service provision, stronger linkages between government, project and civil society.
Civil society NGO activists in Ukraine are developing a new legislation on sex work. According to them, eliminating the fines could help increasing access to medical care for women and men involved in sex work – a profession vulnerable to HIV.
The Youth Force for AIDS 2018 is looking for young people and youth organisations. Nadiia Dubchak, from Kyiv, Ukraine, is the co-chair of the Youth Force of AIDS 2018 Conference, and she is representing Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Meanwhile, Nadiia is looking for active people between the ages of 15 – 26 to help found and lead the Amsterdam Youth Force. AFEW International is supporting this initiative.
The 22nd International AIDS Conference that will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 23-27 July, 2018, announces its scientific tracks and conference objectives. The registration for the conference opens on December 1, 2017. More information about abstracts and submissions will be available in the coming months.
The initiative started in May 2017 on the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial with a mini-football blitz tournament in Almaty. The members of the team were not professional sportsmen and muscular men, but delicate and the most beautiful girls in the country – the finalists of the beauty contests, popular singers and journalists. However, girls’ mentors were real football professionals, including sportsman-composer Abdulkarim Karimov and renowned players Zharko Markovich and Bauyrzhan Turysbek from Kayrat team.
