The World AIDS Day

"Collective action and cooperation can unlock the policy and legal obstacles that hinder access to HIV services. This includes expanding the comprehensive packages of interventions and ensuring equal access to HIV services" - said the UNODC Executive Director Mr.Yury Fedotov on the occasion of the World AIDS Day. This year  activities  in the  Central Asian region  include inter alia:

In Kazakhstan in partnership with NGO Aman-saulyk, Republican AIDS Centre and the Ministry of Health and Social Development UNODC conducted public hearings in 10 regions of Kazakhstan in April-October 2015.  Public hearings in ten cities were attended by more than 1000 decision makers from the municipality, representatives from drug control department, penitentiary system, health care service providers, NGOs, clients of methadone maintenance programmes and their family members. The programme included a brief overview on HIV situation in Kazakhstan, followed by presentations of the clients of methadone therapy about their personal experience. Simultaneously, a competition for journalists was launched for the best publication about the individual and public benefits of methadone therapy. It also contributed to 26% increase in the overall number of people receiving methadone therapy in Kazakhstan and allocation of additional funds from the regional budget (such as   the Municipality of Aktobe region decided to allocate 6 million tenge for scaling-up the therapy in 2016).

A high-level meeting in Kyrgyzstan on government funding of OST and Needle and syringe exchange programme was conducted in October 2015 as results of a few-months advocacy work with the main national stakeholders. The meeting was attended by the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Director of Health Insurance Fund, senior officials of Drug Control Agency, Prison Department of the Ministry of Interior, AIDS Centre, and National Centre for Addiction Disorders, representatives of Global Fund and civil society and international organizations. Government support for national funding mechanism of the OST was discussed. The Vice Prime Minister will lead and oversee the establishment of this mechanism.

In Uzbekistan 300 copies of  National Manual on monitoring of human rights with focus on HIV was developed and  published in Uzbek and Russian languages in cooperation with the National Human Rights Centre, National AIDS Centre and NHO "Intilish" which works with people who use drugs (PWUD).  Manual allows monitoring rights of people who use drugs and people living with HIV/AIDS as well as integrate human rights approach into the respective government agency's work plans.

In Tajikistanan Action Plan on introduction of OST program in penitentiary system was developed as a result of number of workshops on HIV service provision for people who inject drugs (PWID) for the law enforcement officials.

Manual introducing new training modules for law enforcement was incorporated into curricula of Police Academy of the Ministry of Interior, Drug Control Agency and National University of Tajikistan.