On January 28, 2010, International Organization for Migration (IOM) has organized round table in Astana, Kazakhstan with the purpose to familiarize participants with further plans on implementation of the large grant of Central Asia AIDS Control Project directed for the development of Regional Training and Information Center for HIV Prevention among migrants and their family members.

Training seminar on writing reports based on the results of sentinel surveillance carried out in 2008 on HIV infection in the Kyrgyz Republic through application of “Epilnfo” program took place in Bishkek, on December 14-18, 2009. The organization and financing of this seminar was due to the Central Asia AIDS Control Project, and methodical support was provided by the trained trainers of Republican AIDS Center of the Kyrgyz Republic. The specialists of the Republican AIDS Center and trained specialists of the oblasts AIDS control and prevention centers (head physicians, epidemiologists, assistant epidemiologists, doctors-laboratory assistants), who were involved in organization, conduction and entry of SS data in pilot cities of Bishkek, Batken, Jalalabad, Tokmok and Kara-Kol participated in the seminar.

Round table of the Kazakhstan public organizations carrying out socially significant projects in the field of HIV prevention took place on December 22, 2009 in Almaty. Organizers of this round table were Public Association “Center for Development of Public Initiatives” and Public Foundation “Kazakhstan Union of people living with HIV.”

Project Management Training, which covered administrative and management aspects of projects has been held on December 9-11, 2009 in Dushanbe as part of implementation of 4th grant round of CAAP project’s Regional AIDS Fund. This training has gathered 26 representatives of NGOs and government organizations (coordinators and financial specialists), whose grant applications have been approved by results of CAAP project’s 4th grant round. Taking into account the experience gained while working in the project, staff of CAAP project from regional office and national office in Tajikistan were trainers themselves.

The initiative of carrying out of PLWH Forum in Kazakhstan belongs to Public Foundation “Kazakhstan PLWH Union” - nongovernmental organization established in 2004 and officially registered in July 2005. The organizations created by PLWH and their relatives and friends teamed up for development of long-term cooperation with government, civil society and business of Kazakhstan in order to provide PLWH and their relatives and friends with well-deserved quality of life including access to qualitative services on prevention, treatment, care and support related to HIV-infection.

Under the initiative of Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan and with the support of the Central Asia AIDS Control Project on the basis of Republican AIDS Prevention Center in Almaty, Regional HIV-Infection Epidemiological Surveillance Training Center in Central Asian countries (RESTC) has started its work on December 1, 2009. At the initial stage staff structure of the Regional Training Center consists of Development and Management Coordinator, Program Coordinator and three experts: Epidemiology Consultant, Laboratory Diagnostics Consultant, Clinical Consultant.

Throughout the world HIV infection prevalence among prisoners is usually much higher than among the population as a whole. This situation is often follow by and worsened with high levels of occurrence of other infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and tuberculosis. Generally recognized principles according to which prisons and prisoners remain to be part of whole society imply that threat of HIV for health of prisoners and for health of population outside prisons are inseparably associated with each other and therefore require coordinated actions. Despite such conditions, some countries of Central Asia have not started implementation of harm reduction programs in prisons yet and have not reached level of medical and sanitary service in prisons equivalent to levels of such services provided for whole population. This creates unsafe environment for health of prisoners, workers of prison and wider population. Overly frequent application of imprisonment to drug users raises special concern. In many countries the significant percent of prisoners are those condemned for law violations directly connected with the use of drugs by themselves (i.e. those who are imprisoned for possession of small amount of drugs for personal use, condemned for minor offences done only for satisfaction of their needs for drug usage due to their addictive behavior). Imprisonment of large number of drug users enhances the likelihood of drugs use in prisons and, in consequence, increases the application of risky injection methods and risk of HIV transmission.

On November 25 – 26, 2009 the Republican Association "AIDS" under the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, which is the main recipient of Global Fund grant to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, jointly with Central Asia AIDS Control Project (CAAP) conducted National Conference on “Condition of HIV infection epidemic in the Kyrgyz Republic based on the results of sentinel surveillance in 2008” The purpose of conducing such conference is presentation of data on sentinel surveillance in 2008 of HIV infection in Kyrgyzstan. The important component of measures being carried out to control HIV spread is sentinel surveillance which allows systematically and on regular basis to gather, analyze, interpret data and provide information to public health services and other interested parties for decision-making, planning of prevention programs and efficient use of financial resources. Sentinel surveillance (SS) including surveillance of HIV infection is one of types of the epidemiological surveillance that enables to assess the epidemiological situation in target groups and get an idea about population as a whole. Target groups of SS on HIV infection are vulnerable groups of population: injecting drug users, sex workers, men having sex with men, prisoners with sexually transmitted infections, and pregnant women.

Immediately following the Regional training of trainers on the issues of HIV prevention among labor migrants, which took place in Tajikistan during last week (November 16-20, 2009), successive national training of local trainers have been organized with participation of representatives of nongovernmental organizations of Kazakhstan. 20 participants from different oblasts of Kazakhstan, who already have experience working with labor migrants in the country, are involved in the training. Training skills of participants will be worked out in the course of the seminar through interactive techniques. The subject of the training will include consideration of both medical and legislative aspects of this issue.

Within the framework of activities of Central Asia AIDS Control Project five-day Regional training of trainers on the issues of HIV prevention among labor migrants and their family members was carried out in Dushanbe (Republic of Tajikistan) on November 16 -20, 2009. 24 representatives of nongovernmental organizations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in this training. The participants already had extensive experience working with labor migrants in Central Asia. The problem of HIV spread control in the light of migration of population stirred special interest of participants. Training skills of participants were worked out in the course of the seminar; extensive distribution materials have been used as well; interactive techniques were included in the methods of the training. The subject of the training included consideration of both medical and legislative aspects of this issue. Special attention was given to the capacity of nongovernmental organizations to work directly with target groups of the population - migrants and members of their families.