Central Asia

The countries of Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan – are facing a rapidly developing HIV epidemic, although overall HIV prevalence remains low (at less than 1%). Between 2000 and 2004, there was a steep increase in the number of reported infections in the region, from 500 to 8,000 (a 1,600% increase). By mid-2004, 4,577 people had officially been registered HIV positive in Kazakhstan, 3,625 in Uzbekistan, 515 in the Kyrgyz Republic, 305 in Tajikistan and 2 in Turkmenistan.

The HIV epidemic is currently concentrated among vulnerable population groups such as injecting drug users, sex workers and those in prison. To date, 70–80% of reported infections in the region are among injecting drug users. However, a number of factors point towards the possibility of a more generalised epidemic developing: high sexually transmitted infection prevalence rates; illicit drug trafficking throughout the region; high unemployment rates; growing poverty, among young people in particular; significant prison populations; and the increasing spread of sex work as a means of income generation. This points to an urgent need to scale up comprehensive and co-ordinated national responses to the HIV epidemic across the region.

For information about the Alliance's activities in this region, please contact Julie Banks.