US to fund HIV and tuberculosis prevention and treatment in CA

15:58, 15 April 2010

ALMATY. April 15. KAZINFORM Today, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires, Pamela Spratlen and Ospanov Kenes, the Chairman of State Committee of the Sanitary and Epidemiologic Supervision of Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, officially launched a U.S. government-funded health program that will work to improve HIV and tuberculosis services among at risk populations in Central Asia. This five-year, $15 million U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program was announced at a regional conference that took place at the Alatau Sanatorium in Almaty on April 15; Kazinform has learnt from the US Embassy in Kazakhstan.

This program, entitled the USAID Health Outreach Program, will provide technical assistance, training, and direct outreach services to the people who are most at risk to contract HIV and tuberculosis in Central Asia, in order to prevent the spread of these infections among the general population. "Diseases have no borders, and if we don't help fight HIV and tuberculosis among these vulnerable groups, they can spread among all of us," said Chargé d'Affaires Spratlen.

In Kazakhstan, for example, the number of HIV-infected people is increasing by 20-25 percent each year. While currently this infection is contained among the most-at-risk populations, such as sex workers and intravenous drug users, its rapid growth threatens to trigger the growth of infection among the general population. Tuberculosis rates in the country are already high: in 2008 alone, more than 2,500 people died of tuberculosis and about 18,000 new tuberculosis cases were registered. The situations are similar in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. People living with HIV are also more susceptible to contracting tuberculosis, which complicates treatment and may lead to the development of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, a significant health threat to society.

The launch conference for the USAID Health Outreach Program mapped out the steps that will be taken to address the spread of HIV and tuberculosis in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. At the event, regional specialists also formed a Regional Oversight Committee, which will include representatives of the republic's AIDS centers, national TB institutions, partner networks, and international and non-governmental organizations working with at-risk populations.

The Health Outreach Program is one of the many development projects by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program is implemented by Population Service International (PSI), Project HOPE, the AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW), and the Kazakh Association of PLHIV in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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