DUSHANBE, October 4, Asia-Plus — Legislative foundations of measures to prevent spread of HIV-infection and priorities of interregional cooperation will be major topics of the 3 rd parliamentary conference of Central Asia and Azerbaijan on HIV/AIDS issue that will be held in Dushanbe on October 9-10.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Jumaboy Sanginov, member of the Committee for Social, Family, Health Care and Ecology Affairs within the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), said in crease in the number of people living with HIV in Central Asia evokes concern of parliamentarians.
It is to be noted that that according to the global assessment by the UNAIDS, rates of HIV-infection in Central Asia are among the highest in the world.
Thus, Tajik MP noted that from 1991 to 2001, only 45 cases of HIV-infection were registered in Tajikistan, while since 2001, this figure has increased to 1,231. Over the first six months of this year alone, 181 new cases of HIV-infection have been detected in the country, Sanginov said.
The first regional parliamentary conference on the HIV issues was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2006, and the second one was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan last year.
