HIV/AIDS continues to spread in prisons

HIV/AIDS continues to take its toll in Kyrgyz prisons. Of the total number of people infected throughout the country, the vast majority are convicts and injecting drug users, particularly in the southern Kyrgyz province of Osh. Andrei (who declined to use his real name), aged 42, was released from prison last year. There he tested HIV positive after a routine medical check-up. "[I got infected] either in prison or before going to jail. We used to inject drugs in groups before and after," he said. Now undergoing methadone substitution therapy, he spends most of his time at the local AIDS centre helping doctors in their efforts to raise awareness. The issue of AIDS is nothing new in Kyrgyzstan. Although there have been only 339 officially registered cases nationwide since the first case was recorded in 1987, health officials believe the real figure is 10 times higher. "It is very easy to catch HIV/AIDS in prisons," Samat, another former convict, said. Bad nutrition, lack of hygiene and a constant flow of drugs from the outside had exacerbated the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, TB and hepatitis, he said. "My parents watch over their possessions so that I don't sell them to buy another dose. Neighbours and friends avoid me," the 24-year-old said, adding that he didn't know how long he would live. Asked to explain why the number of HIV cases in prisons was so high, experts said the conditions inside the facilities contributed to the spread of the pandemic. Regional authorities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and NGOs have cited injecting drugs, a widespread practice in the region, as the main source of transmission in southern Kyrgyzstan. Meanwhile, local elders blame the increase on prostitution and the erosion of morals. "Before it was not possible to see saunas with commercial sex services or girls trying to sell themselves," Mamatgazy Ergeshev, member of the Osh veterans' organisation, said. According to the regional police authorities, more than 30 drug dens had been detected this year and illegal brothels were said to number more than that. "HIV/AIDS will continue spreading in the region due to the high number of injecting drug users and it is not possible to reach them all with preventive programmes," Larisa Bashmakova, a national expert with the Joint UN Agencies Programme on Expanded Response to HIV/AIDS in Kyrgyzstan, told IRIN. Bashmakova said the programmes had covered only 17 percent of drug users and HIV positive people in Osh region. The ratio was much higher than in the rest of the country, but she said coverage needed to reach 60 percent for noticeable effects to be seen. "The only thing we can do is educate young people," Naken Kasiev, governor of Osh province and a former Kyrgyz minister of health, told IRIN, emphasising the importance of educational programmes at schools and universities, involving community leaders and NGOs. The issue of treatment and support for HIV infected people was also being raised in the region. Local AIDS centres could only provide psychological support. "We recently started a public fund to support HIV positive people," Tugelbay Mamaev, head of the Osh AIDS centre, said. "It is very important for our patients to meet each other, to socialise, and not to feel rejected by the community, so we would appreciate any help."