Press Release

OPEC Fund helps combat HIV/AIDS among vulnerable groups in Central Asia

127/2005 December 20, 2005, Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$2 million to co-finance a project jointly developed by the Fund and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The initiative seeks to better implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care services among vulnerable groups in targeted Central Asian countries.

The number of HIV/AIDS cases in Central Asia is rapidly increasing. All countries in the region, with assistance from UNAIDS and its co-sponsors, have put policies and strategies into place to try to control the virus. As the growing incidence of the virus poses a relatively new challenge to the region, however, governments and civil society are not yet financially and technically equipped to deal with the issue.

The situation is becoming particularly acute in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Although the highest rates of HIV/AIDS are concentrated in two of the highest-risk groups - intravenous drug users and those in prisons or other correctional institutions - concern is growing over the possibility of a more generalized epidemic.

The OPEC Fund/UNODC initiative will respond directly to the needs of Central Asian governments to establish a comprehensive, large-scale prevention and care system to manage and control the increasing cases of HIV/AIDS caused by intravenous drug users and in prison settings. This will be accomplished through addressing the “frontline” professionals working in the environment, such as those employed at drug abuse centers, outreach workers, therapists, nurses and prison personnel. Strategies will focus on addressing the situation on the policy, prison management and service provider levels. Capacity-building measures will include, among many others, mapping HIV/AIDS training needs, developing relevant teaching modules and materials and strengthening national facilities to encourage ongoing training and capacity building in all project countries so that they can become self-sustainable.

The OPEC Fund contribution will be drawn from its HIV/AIDS Special Grant Account, which was launched in 2001 with an initial endowment of US$15 million. Subsequent replenishments have boosted the account to US$50 million. Fund-sponsored projects are currently ongoing in all developing regions of the world, in association with lead agencies such as UNAIDS, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Commission for Africa, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.