 Bishkek, 27 September 2006 -- “If we do not take measures to fight HIV/AIDS today, tomorrow we will lose our youth, our future,” said a Russian Member of Parliament at an international conference of parliamentarians in Kyrgyzstan, which addressed the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region. The conference outlined priorities and next steps for fighting the epidemic in the region.
The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan (Joghorku Keneš) convened on September 25th an international parliamentary conference entitled “The HIV Epidemic in Central Asia and Eastern Europe: Legislative Measures to Combat the Spread of HIV and Priorities for Regional Cooperation” in Bishkek. The World Bank’s Central Asia AIDS Control Project and Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS (TPAA) provided support for this important and timely initiative.  | The problem of HIV infection is very acute in the whole world including our region. The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan came up with the initiative to hold such a conference in order to find ways and methods of prophylactic of such deadly disease. The inter-parliamentary working group that we plan to create will work in this direction and will concentrate not only on Central Asian states, but will work in close cooperation with the Russian Federation, Ukraine and other states.
Mr. Erkinbek Alymbekov
Deputy Chairman of the Kyrgyz Parliament |
Central Asia has witnessed a dramatic increase in infection rates over the past four years. Officially reported cases jumped from about 500 in 2000 to over 12,000 in 2004. Unreported cases are thought to be much larger; the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States estimates that in Central Asia there are some 90,000 people in the sub-region living with HIV/AIDS. Central Asia's epidemic has been driven by intravenous drug use, triggered by an increase in drug production and trade. However, there are already signs that the epidemic is spreading beyond the high-risk populations to the general public -- and even to children as events in recent weeks in Southern Kazakhstan, as well a similar event in Kyrgyzstan, have shown.  | Our citizens ask “Why are politicians concerned with the issue of HIV, but not other diseases? Why so many resources dedicated to this problem?” The answer is quite simple if we do not take measures to fight HIV/AIDS today, tomorrow we will loose our youth, our future. Statistics do not lie – the most affected group is the young people, people up to 40 years old. The volume of resources spent on treatment will be massive. Therefore, consolidation of efforts, development of joint activities is the important task of the conference.
Mr. Mikhail Grishankov, First Deputy Chairman of the Security Committee and Member of the Russian Parliamentary Working Group on AIDS, State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation |
Worldwide, evidence suggests that early action can avoid huge costs later. The uninhibited spread of HIV in Central Asia over the next decade would slow economic growth by an estimated 20 percent in Uzbekistan and by 10 percent in Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Region-wide, a generalized epidemic could lead to an annual decline in economic growth of between one half and one percentage point, hitting all areas of the economy from the oil and gas giants to the finance sector and smaller enterprises and agriculture.
 | The problem is so extensive that it has come out of the domain of medicine or of one state. It is now a regional issue. This conference has an important goal - we want to find ways to prevent the spread of the epidemic. How could it be done? The parliamentarians of the region have gathered here today to address this issue. Mr. Jusuf Nishanov
Member of committee on science, education and sport, Parliament of Uzbekistan |
Speaking about the results of the conference, Mr. Patricio V. Marquez, Lead Health Specialist at the World Bank and Coordinator for the Central Asia AIDS Program noted: “As shown in this conference, there is no substitute for the involvement of high political bodies such as the offices of Presidents or Prime Ministers and national Parliaments to break the silence about HIV/AIDS, provide the necessary leadership for an effective and sustained response, and more importantly to confront stigma and discrimination against infected persons and their families.”  | The first goal of the conference is the assessment of the situation; second is harmonization of legislative norms of Central Asian states, which is important factor in integration of efforts to fight AIDS, and finally, as the Executive Director of CAAP project and vice-speaker of the Kyrgyz parliament have suggested, to set up an inter-parliamentary working group. This conference unifies the efforts not only among parliaments of the region, but also that of governments and ministries.
Mr. Djumaboi Sanginov, Member of Committee on social, family care and environment issues, Parliament of Tajikistan
|
The conference concluded its work with the adoption of a resolution that outlined concrete steps to fortify and enhance agreements that were reached during the event. Participants agreed to form a Central Asian parliamentary work group on HIV problems with the goal of improving the legislative framework supporting the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in Central Asia. A Central Asia AIDS Project supported by the World Bank and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) will provide organizational and technical support to the parliamentary HIV working group.  | The conference offers a unique opportunity for parliamentarians to exchange their experiences with HIV-related legislation and discuss possibilities to implement global best practices on HIV prevention in the region. The challenge is for each of us to get involved and win the fight against AIDS in the Central Asian countries. The best advocacy is action and national Parliaments have a major role to play in this critical endeavor.
Mr. Tilek Meimanaliev, Executive Director of the Central Asia AIDS Control Project |
In addition, conference participants agreed to inform heads of states, executive and legislative bodies on the results of work parliamentary conference, as well as on decisions made during the conference. For information about the Central Asia AIDS Project (CAAP) please contact: Tilek Meimanaliev, Executive Director, [email protected] or
Chinara Seitalieva, Component Coordinator, [email protected]
Regional Project Management Unit, Central Asia AIDS Project (CAAP)
86 Kunaev Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Phone: 7 (3272) 447317 Click here for the project factsheet. Please, visit the project website http://www.caap.info for resources in Russian. For resources in English, visit the World Bank website: http://www.worldbank.org/eca/aids.
|
