DUSHANBE, February 15, Asia-Plus  - Presentation of two health projects – the Access Project and the Amal (Action) Project – was held in Dushanbe yesterday.  

The projects are being implemented by The AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW).

During the presentation ceremony, it was noted that the Access Project is a large-scale innovative project aimed at reducing effects of HIV/AIDS among vulnerable social groups in four Central Asia’s states - Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.  The project is implemented under financial support of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has provided 6.8 million euros for implementation of this project.     

The project is aimed at improvement of access to services on prevention of HIV/ADIS, treatment and care of and support for commercial sex workers, drug injecting users, prisoners, people living with HIV and TB patients through providing succession and stability of preventive services providing TB or HIV patients with proper medical aid and care in case of HIV/TB co-infection, Dilshod Poulodov, the project manager for Tajikistan, said.     

As far the Amal Project is concerned, it is being implemented in the Sughd province as part of the Program for Mitigation of Transition Period in Ferghana Valley, Poulodov said.  The project is designed for two years and the estimated budget for implementation of it in Tajikistan is 500,000 euros.  In Sughd, the project is being implemented in Khujand, Panjakent, Chkalovsk and Qairoquum under financial support of the European Commission. 

The main objective of project is to support development of public health and psychosocial services fro vulnerable groups in the Sughd province through enhancing their access to services and medical aid as well as through reduction of a level of discrimination against people living with HIV.  

AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) is a Dutch non-governmental humanitarian public health organization whose mission is to make a major contribution to the reduction of the impact of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) ¹ by: taking an innovative and pro-active approach to developing, implementing and promoting tools for effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support, designed for and appropriate to the specific conditions of EECA; targeting the younger generation of the region, in particular those engaging in risky behavior; cooperating closely with national governmental and non-governmental structures to boost local coping capacities and to advocate for appropriate action; and strengthening East-West engagement by exchanging knowledge and people via program activities and stimulating a committed response.