Launch of HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in Tashkent
Why are so many young people contracting HIV? The same question, and its variants, was picked up by the hugely popular youth TV channel in Uzbekistan -- “Yoshlar” (Youth), to be used in a series of public opinion programs, for prime-time telecast throughout the week. For the first time ever in Uzbekistan, a series of such questions have been placed in the public arena to trigger open debate on the subject of HIV. The topic is expected to generate considerable discussion, given that nearly 60% of Uzbekistan’s population of 26 million is people less than 25 years of age. The campaign which was globally launched in New York on 25 October 2005 by UNICEF and UNAIDS, was followed by country-level events around the world in 30 ‘champion’ countries, including Uzbekistan. In Tashkent, the Global Campaign for Children and AIDS was jointly launched by UNICEF and the KAMOLOT Youth Movement, in the presence of high-level representatives of the Government of Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Health; the UN and several bilateral agencies; international and local NGOs; school principals and peer educators from Tashkent city and Tashkent region; and representatives of a large number of media organizations. Expressing the Government of Uzbekistan’s full commitment to the Global Campaign, Ms Tanzila Norbaeva, representing the Cabinet of Ministers, invited UNICEF to provide leadership and guidance in implementing a country-wide campaign to mobilize society to collectively respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to data from the Republican AIDS Centre, of the more than 5600 people officially registered in Uzbekistan as living with HIV, 56% are in the age group 15 - 30. Major factors driving the epidemic include unsafe practices and high-risk behavior among young injecting drug users and their sexual partners, who constitute a significantly high proportion of the HIV cases in Uzbeksitan. “Drugs, high ratio of unemployed youth and easy access to drugs are an explosive mixture, and in many ways here in Uzbekistan we are sitting on a time-bomb”UNICEF Uzbekistan Representative, Reza Hossaini, drawing attention to the steeply rising epidemiological trend in Uzbeksitan, said: “Though the total number of HIV cases is low in Uzbekistan today, there is no room for complacency as there has been a 14-fold increase in the number of new cases in the past 4 years. Moreover, given the stigma associated with HIV, it is a well-known fact, that for every reported HIV case, several go un-reported, and therefore remain hidden”.
Despite significant resources allocated by the government and the large number of agencies including Global Fund involved in creating public awareness on HIV, its impact on bringing about change in risky behaviors practiced by young people has remained less than optimal. Widespread stigma and discrimination associated with HIV, compounded by the lack of youth-friendly health services and a difficult legislative environment has been a serious barrier to an effective response. “Try and imagine, for a moment, what it must be like, to be told in the prime of your youth – that you have an incurable infection. It can be shattering!” said Sevara Nazarkhan, one of Uzbekistan’s most celebrated and internationally acclaimed young singer and composer. Introducing a short video on the oral testimonies of two young people living with HIV, she said: “All over the world, stigma and discrimination has come in the way of truly responding to the AIDS crisis. We need to overcome that. To do that, we first need to hear the voices of those who are living the reality of HIV”. Committing her whole-hearted support to the campaign, she urged that people living with HIV, especially young people, be included in all decision-making processes. The screening of the moving real-life testimonies that followed constitutes a landmark event in Uzbekistan. It is probably the first time ever in Uzbekistan, that voices of people living with HIV were heard in a public forum. Calling for a nation-wide mobilization campaign to create an AIDS-free generation, Senator Botir Ubaydullaev, Chairperson of the KAMOLOT Youth Movement, committed to collaborate with UNICEF and the Global Campaign. KAMOLOT, a network of youth volunteers in every district and school of Uzbekistan, has been building a cadre of peer educators in partnership with UNICEF, to provide HIV prevention information and skills to youth in Uzbekistan. Under the rubric of the Global Campaign for Children and AIDS, and in line with the agreement among all partners for a coordinated response to the epidemic, UNICEF committed to contribute technical assistance and guidance to the Government of Uzbekistan in the formulation of a national communication and mobilization strategy, specifically focused on reaching the most-at-risk youth. UNICEF in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS Center also agreed to develop a follow up action plan for implementation of PMTCT and pediatric ARV services.
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