Kyrgyzstan
Anti-AIDS Association (AAA) is the Alliance’s linking organisation in the Kyrgyz Republic, working to expand access to HIV-related services to key populations and people living with HIV.
The Kyrgyz Republic has a concentrated HIV epidemic, with around 67% of HIV cases relating to injecting drug use and high prevalence also among populations of men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers.
Official data indicates that most people living with HIV are in the cities of Osh and and Bishkek where poverty and unemployment, alongside high levels of injecting drug use, have been driving forces in the spread of HIV.
In 2010 there were just under 3000 registered cases of HIV, however UNAIDS estimates a total of 9,800 which equates to an adult prevalence rate of 0.3% in a population of 5.5 million.
WHAT WE DO
Supporting communities
Anti AIDS Association (AAA) is a membership organisation of local community based organisations (CBOs). AAA also directly implements programmes of organisational capacity building for CBOs and provides technical support on HIV prevention and care and support programmes, operational research, and empowering MSM, sex workers and PLHIV to meaningfully contribute to national policies affecting human rights and access to health care.
Expanding access to services
In 2007, AAA and other Alliance partners in Central Asia secured World Bank funding to implement a project to reduce the spread of HIV and mitigate its impact in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The project – part of the Central Asia AIDS Control Project (CAAP) –expanded access to HIV prevention, care and support services. It increased the involvement of affected communities in programming and policy development, and strengthened the capacity of networks of people living with HIV to effectively support and influence national responses. By the end of 2008, the project had been implemented in three of the four focus countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan). It had provided care and support services to more than 3,200 people living with HIV, supported 26 local groups, and conducted 43 advocacy events across the region. With the project’s support, eight new groups of people living with HIV were incorporated as legal NGOs.
FUTURE PLANS
AAA is working towards expanding their programmatic scope to deliver a comprehensive response to HIV, including integrating sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and TB interventions into their HIV programmes.