DUSHANBE
, July 7, Asia-Plus – On Friday July 7, visiting UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in
Asia
and the Pacific, Dr. Nafis Sadik, hosted a news conference in
Dushanbe
address urgent issues on HIV/AIDS at the global level and in the context of
Tajikistan
.
“
Tajikistan
has a chance to prevent spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Ms. Sadik said. She noted that stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS was one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Scalping up of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for the vulnerable groups of the population by 2010 is one of the cornerstones for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Noting that the government should play a key role in scalping up efforts, Dr. Sadik advocated for greater involvement of all sectors of civil society of the country in the national response to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
During the news conference it was noted that high-risk groups, which were the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, included injecting drug users, commercial sex workers, prison inmates, as well as youth and labor migrants. Dr. Sadik noted that although numbers of HIV-individuals in
Tajikistan
were relatively low and they were lower than in the
Russian Federation
and
Ukraine
, there ought not to rest content.
On her meetings in
Tajikistan
, Ms. Sadik confirmed her confidence that HIV-infected individuals were discriminated both at home and in work and even in medical facilities. “That is why HIV-individuals are frequently keeping their disease from others, fearing to lose their job and their status in society,”
US
special envoy said.
She named improvement of medical service, raising AIDS awareness among the population and surmounting negative phenomena such as discrimination of sick people as key factors contributing to prevention of spread of HIV/AIDS.
Asked about numbers of HIV-infected individuals in
Tajikistan
, Dr. Sadik reminded that according to official figures there were 544 HIV-infected in
Tajikistan
, while actual numbers of them in the country could be several times higher.
During the news conference it was also noted that at present 36 patients in
Tajikistan
were undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
It was also noted that on average 22 in each thousand labor migrants tested for HIV proved to be HIV-infected.
Ms. Nafis Sadik pointed once again to the importance of a role of civil society organizations and the society as whole in scalping up efforts to prevent spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.
Mr. William Paton, UN Resident Coordinator, and Ms. Yukie Mokuo, Head of the UNICEF Country Office in
Tajikistan
, and senior representatives from other UN agencies active in
Tajikistan
also took part in the news conference.
