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BISHKEK (TCA) — The Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan and USAID’s Challenge TB project have started to enroll patients with drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB) in new, more effective and shorter treatments nationwide. The new treatments are cheaper with fewer side effects than the previously-used standard treatment, the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic reported. Continue reading
DUSHANBE (TCA) — USAID/Central Asia Tajikistan Country Director Katherine Crawford, Deputy Speaker of Tajikistan’s Parliament Khayriniso Yusufi, and First Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of Population Saida Umarzoda last week gathered government officials, donor representatives, and other key stakeholders at a ceremony to celebrate and close the three-year project, Tajikistan Technical Support to Reduce Micronutrient Deficiencies. This project has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the US Embassy in Dushanbe said. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — According to UNAIDS, today 8,500 people live with HIV in Kyrgyzstan, but the overwhelming majority of them are fearful to reveal their HIV/AIDS status or go to the doctor. A UNAIDS report mentioned that 20% of HIV positive people in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe are scared of going to the doctor because of stigma and discrimination. Experts of UNAIDS came to such conclusion after analyzing the data from 19 countries which also included Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. The report mentioned that every fourth HIV patient has come across discrimination at medical institutions. Evgeniy Yuldashev, one of the three patients in Kyrgyzstan who have revealed their HIV status, says that HIV patients encounter discrimination at medical establishments and at law-enforcement bodies. “If you need a surgery, you have to go from door to door a lot. It is really difficult to live with our society's mentality,” he said. Evgeniy said that before he revealed his status it was incredibly hard to live hiding his status from everyone. “Now that I have told everyone that I am HIV positive, I am happy and it is a challenge for other patients too not to hide it and live in fear. Whether they acquired HIV due to their irresponsibility like I did or due to doctors’ carelessness as it happened in the south of Kyrgyzstan a decade ago where nearly 300 children were infected with HIV, they should not be scared. Those children are teenagers now. I want to tell them that the HIV patients receive antiretroviral therapy, can live a long life and can have healthy children,” said Evgeniy. He also mentioned that he is happy to have this status since it was a turning point in his life. He doesn't use drugs anymore. Instead, he visits prisons, consults and supports drug abusers and HIV patients. “I have been there (prison) four times, I know that life and I like what I'm doing now. I found myself due to HIV,” he said. Stigma in Central Asian society towards HIV positive people remains strong. People, especially in the countryside, do not have enough knowledge or adequate information about HIV/AIDS. Many people think it is a disease of inappropriate behaviour and that one can catch it like a flu or by sharing the same dishes. Families of children who have been infected in the south of Kyrgyzstan always appear on media wearing masks. They are scared to be discriminated at schools, in their villages. Currently there are hundreds of NGOs in Central Asian countries which are working on informing population about HIV/AIDS. People like Evgeniy hope that international organisations' help, such as from UNAIDS and Global Fund, will help to overcome the stigma. “There are talks that one day the international organizations will stop helping us, leaving patients just to our government. That would be bad. I don’t know what we will do then,” Evgeniy shared his concern. According to WHO, HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health issue in the...
BISHKEK (TCA) — The Embassy of Switzerland in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health have awarded medical equipment to health organizations of the Ton, Jeti Oguz and Tyup districts of the Issyk-Kul oblast of Kyrgyzstan. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) presented the achievements from the most recent evaluation surveys of its nutrition project in Kyrgyzstan, the Strengthening Partnerships, Results, and Innovations in Nutrition Globally (SPRING). The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, development partners, international organizations, practitioners, academia, and other stakeholders attended the roundtable last week, the US Embassy in Bishkek reported. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — On October 26, the National Tuberculosis Center in Kyrgyzstan confirmed that the first six people completed a new, shorter treatment regimen for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (TB). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with local partners to bring this new regimen, recommended by the World Health Organization, to all TB patients in the Kyrgyz Republic, the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan said. Continue reading
