KHOROG, September 18, 2009, Asia-Plus — A roundtable meeting to discuss issues related to the prevention of HIV/AIS among labor migrants was held in Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan on September 17.
The meeting was organized by the Khorog-based Civil Society Support Center, Kalam, within the frameworks of the IOM (International Organization for Migration) project, Community Mobilization on HIV/AIDS Prevention among Labor Migrants and Their Families.
Activities within the project include community mobilization; assistance on building the capacity of governments and NGOs to address STIs/HIV/AIDS vulnerability among labor migrants and their families; promote access to adequate STIs/HIV/AIDS prevention; and facilitate the provision of STIs/HIV/AIDS counseling, education, diagnosis and treatment. On the basis of this project IOM plan to extend the activity among labor migrants and the mobile population, including activities among migrants in the countries of destination, mainly Russia and Kazakhstan.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the project coordinator in Gorno Badakhshan, Ms. Savri Shanbezoda, said the main objective of the event was in disseminating information on HIV/AIDS among labor migrants and their families.
A documentary “Har Yaki Mo” (Each of Us), shedding light on life and work of labor migrants, was demonstrated during the meeting and booklets and other information materials about labor migration and HIV/IDS were distributed to the meeting participants.
The meeting participants included representatives from local authorities and public associations dealing with the labor migration issues, regional AIDS center and heads of local communities.
In the meantime, according to the GBAO AIDS Center, 12 new cases of HIV infection have been registered in the region over the first eight months of this year, bringing a total number of officially registered HIV sufferers in Gorno Badakhshan to 115.
