PSI

Size of population	5,317,000
Gross national income per capita (2007)	US$ 610
HIV Prevalence	0.1 [<0.1 – 0.3]%
Estimated HIV cases	4,200
TB incidence	6,451
Estimated TB cases	7,147

HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kyrgyzstan is driven by injecting drug use and is concentrated largely in the regions of Osh in the south and Chui in the north, as well as the capital, Bishkek. Like other Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan lies on major drug trafficking routes, which is fueling drug use. Since at least 2 percent of the adult population injects drugs, according to official estimates, the risk for a rapid spread of HIV is high.

Between 2,300 and 7,700 people are estimated to be living with HIV, a prevalence rate of between 0.1 and 0.3 percent of the adult population, which is relatively low. The detection rate is not falling. More than 77 percent of cases registered are between 20 and 39 years old, and more than 10 percent of HIV-positive people have already developed AIDS.

TUBERCULOSIS

TB incidence and mortality rates are among the highest in the region, with the prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB adding to the challenge for the health system. According to WHO, incidence is around 120 per 100,000 population. Global Fund grants from Rounds 2 and 6 are helping to finance the national plan to reduce new cases to 90 per 100,000 population and the mortality rate to 9 per 100,000.

A key objective is to ensure adequate supplies of first-line drugs, including in prisons. TB control is one of the priorities of the National Health Care Reform Program “Manas Taalimi” for 2006–2010, which aims to integrate TB services into the primary health care system.

According to official figures, some 1,225 people are infected with multidrug-resistant TB.

PROJECT FOCUS

Under the USAID Dialogue on HIV and TB Project, prevention interventions target the following populations: injecting drug users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, people living with HIV, prisoners and migrants. The project is implemented in the following sites: Bishkek City, Chui Oblast, Osh Oblast and Djalalabad Oblast.

All data are taken from the October 2009 report from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria titled Regional Overview: Eastern Europe and Central Asia.