On 9 December, participants of a working meeting in Almaty discussed national and international approaches to ensuring access to HIV-related services for migrants.
The event brought together specialists from the Kazakh National Centre for Infectious Diseases (KNCID), as well as experts from international and community-based organizations working in the fields of migration and HIV. Among the participants were Community Friends NGO, Den Sooluk Nuru NGO, the Regional Expert Group on Migrant Health, and the Central Asian Association of People Living with HIV.
Experts focused on the results of the study “Assessment of the Size and Service Needs Related to HIV among People Living with HIV and Key Populations of Foreign Migrants in Kazakhstan.”
According to Sairankul Kassymbekova, Head of the Clinical Monitoring Department of KNCID, since the beginning of the year, 180 migrants living with HIV have been registered in the country — accounting for 5% of all detected cases. Currently, 223 migrants are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) through a grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Artyom Lebedev, President of Community Friends NGO, presented the results of the “Migrant Health-2” project in Kazakhstan, noting that over two years, the project has helped 144 migrants gain access to ART.
Daniil Kashnitsky from the Regional Expert Group on Migrant Health shared good practices from the WHO European Region on improving migrants’ access to health services.
Participants also discussed access to HIV-related services for foreign citizens in Kazakhstan, as well as mechanisms for remote registration and provision of treatment for Kazakh citizens living with HIV who are currently abroad.
