10:26, 22 февраля 2023, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Darya PODOLSKAYA
The Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, Neman-Pharm, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are cooperating to distribute free HIV self-test kits. U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic reported.
According to it, the kits will be available in 32 pharmacies in Bishkek, Osh, Chui and Osh regions.
The new distribution model aims to improve access to HIV self-testing for the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach population groups. The official launch ceremony of the new distribution method took place on February 21.
The test kits include a saliva HIV test, educational materials, HIV prevention tools, and contact information of organizations where people can get further services. Before taking the test in pharmacies, those who wish have to file an anonymous application on the website www.epictest.live .
«The new model of distribution of test kits will help our service to further strengthen the work on early detection of new HIV cases and their timely connection to antiretroviral therapy, which gives them a chance to live,» said Dr. Umutkan Chokmorova, director of the Republican Center for Control of Bloodborne Viral Hepatitis and HIV.
Nisha Gupta, USAID’s Director of Health and Education, noted that partners from the private sector have joined in the distribution of HIV tests.
As of 2021, at least 9,200 people living with HIV were registered in the country. The number of cases in the Kyrgyz Republic remains stable and is mainly determined by high-risk groups. But it is declining in most countries of the world.
Since 2016, USAID has conducted more than half a million HIV tests in the Kyrgyz Republic. More than 4,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country are currently receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy.