PSI

Size of population	15,421,864
Gross national income per capita (2007)	US$ 5,020
HIV Prevalence	0.1 [<0.1 – 0.3]%
Estimated HIV cases	12,000
TB incidence	19,894
Estimated TB cases	21,485

HIV

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kazakhstan among the general population remains at a low level of 0.1%, but there is a risk of a rapid expansion among the high number of injecting drug users in the country. Approximately 30 percent of people with HIV are aged 20 to 29; 68 percent of them are males, although incidence among women is on the rise. Official data report that 72.7 % of HIV cases occurred due to unsafe drug injection practices, 19% account for sexual transmission.

Although HIV cases have been registered in regions of Kazakhstan, three oblasts are most severely affected by the epidemic: Karaganda oblast, Pavlodar oblast and Almaty city, which account for about 56% of HIV cases. The estimated coverage of injecting drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men by HIV prevention is 24%, 50% and 5% respectively.

Only 50 percent of those in need of it receive ARV therapy and adherence is still low.

TUBERCULOSIS

Kazakhstan has one of the highest TB burdens in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including one of the highest rates of multidrug-resistant TB at 14.2 percent among new TB cases, according to the third WHO global report on anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in the world, published in 2004. Interruptions in the supply of TB drugs have fanned the development of drug-resistant strains of the disease.

The prison system also sees high drug resistance due to the lack of integration between civic and prison TB services. In addition, up to 70 percent of prison inmates discontinue treatment after being released.

The HIV epidemic is another factor contributing to the spread of these virulent TB strains. In 2009, 44.8% of deaths among HIV positive people were attributed to 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: Almaty, Karaganda, Temirtau, Shymkent and Ust-kamenigorsk.

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.