WORK WITH PARLAMENTARIANS OF CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES
Central Asia has faced problem of AIDS later than other countries but currently the rate of HIV-infection spreading in Central Asian (CA) countries is higher than in the other regions of the world.
The international experience shows that measures, taken at the initial stage, help avoid huge expenses in the future. The uninhibited HIV spreading in Central Asia can slow down economic growth development during the next decade. On the regional scale this epidemic may also lead to the annual economic growth decline (from 0.5% to 1.0%), damaging all economic aspects – be it financial, gas and oil producing industry to agriculture, from industrial giants to small enterprises.
However, the HIV/AIDS problem is not only the healthcare problem. It is a problem of stable country development and, lastly, the problem of national security. Today, it is necessary to pay special attention to the inter-sectoral approach which includes the cooperation of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, business leaders and mass media representatives in the process of HIV-infection spreading response.
In the framework of its activity Central Asia AIDS Control Project (CAAP) set goals to draw the attention of legislative authorities to epidemic counteraction, taking an active part in the process of legislative measures focused on HIV and AIDS prevention measures.
One of the first steps to reach these goals was conducting the International parliament conference “HIV epidemic in the countries of Central Asia and Eastern Europe: legislative measures providing in HIV spreading counteraction and the priorities of interregional cooperation” together with the Kyrgyz Parliament (Zhogorku Kenesh) during the month of September 2006 in Bishkek.
The first conference of this kind contributed to cooperation and dialogue strengthening between parliamentarians of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
The main aims of International parliament conference in Kyrgyzstan were:
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To draw CA parliamentarians’ attention to the HIV epidemic in the countries of the region;
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To define the priorities for further legislation development in the CAAP member countries;
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To discuss urgent measures in the HIV epidemic counteraction, including the effective mechanism of state policy legislative provided in the epidemic counteraction on both national and regional levels;
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To exchange the experience gained in the field of HIV/AIDS spreading counteraction.
The conference was conducted under Deputy Chairman of Kyrgyz Parliament Mr. Alymbekov E.D. The representatives of parliaments and health ministries of CA countries, State Duma of Russian Federation (RF), regional legislature organs of RF, Ukranian Verkhovnaya Rada (parliament), leading international agencies and noncommercial organizations took part in the conference.
The decision made by legislative authorities to establish Central Asian Parliament Working Group on HIV issues with the goal to further improve legislative measures focused on counteraction of the HIV epidemic in the CAAP member countries is evidence of the serious attention given to the HIV/AIDS problem.
Central Asia AIDS Control Project provides the organizational and technical assistance to help Central Asian inter-parliament working group function on HIV issues.
Aims of inter-parliament working group on HIV issues:
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Increase participation of legislative authorities and representatives of executive bodies in HIV/AIDS counteraction;
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Develop and strengthen regional strategy for counteraction of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Central Asia;
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Strengthen legislation necessary to provide effective measures connected with HIV/AIDS in Central Asia;
The Central Asian inter-parliament working group consists of 2 representatives from each parliament of the Project member countries.
In the course of the work, the group conducted Parliament Hearings in the profile healthcare committees of the Project member countries during 2006. The Regional Project Management Unit took initiative to make changes and additions in the national laws on HIV/AIDS. These changes concerned further implementation of the Three-To-One UNAIDS Principles. The participants of these hearings proposed to the Government and other interested bodies to prepare draft projects of the corresponding laws.
Another step in the work with the parliamentarians was conducting the Second Inter-parliament conference of Central Asian countries on HIV and AIDS issues on June 7, 2007 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Inter-parliament conference was conducted under the initiative of Parliament of Kazakhstan, led by CAAP with UNAIDS assistance and financial support from UNDP Regional program on HIV/AIDS in the countries of Eastern Europe and CIS as well as the Regional Representation of UN Management on drugs and crimes (UNODC) in Central Asia.
Aside from the members of Central Asian inter-parliament working group on HIV issues – deputies from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, deputies from Azerbaijan and for the first time from Turkmenistan took part in the conference. Ministers of health of Central Asian states and the representatives of international organizations also attended the conference.
During these two days the deputies of Central Asia and Azerbaijan discussed the priorities of interregional cooperation, the issues of legislative measures connected with HIV epidemic counteraction and exchanged experience gained by the countries of the region in the field of legislation improvement for HIV/AIDS. Also included in the agenda were the issues of creating of sustainable financing mechanism creation for programs dealing with HIV/AIDS and aimed at effective resources use for the future HIV epidemic localization.
The parliamentarians also became familiarized with the activities of international organizations and projects working in Central Asia in the field of HIV-infection counteraction (CAAP, Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNODC).
The Resolution was adopted as the result of the conference, and the deputies of the Republic of Azerbaijan were unanimously accepted into the working group.
The next Inter-parliament conference on HIV and AIDS counteraction issues is proposed to be conducted in the capital of Tajikistan – Dushanbe in 2008.
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