At a conference entitled HIV: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, experts discussed the urgent measures that Kazakhstan should take to Fast-Track the AIDS response in the country. More than 170 governmental officials, activists, scientists, experts, health-care professionals and representatives of the AIDS community from all 16 regions of Kazakhstan gathered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 12 to 13 October for the conference.

Access to HIV testing for key populations, the cost of the diagnosis and treatment of people living with HIV, scaling up harm reduction programmes, such as opioid substitution therapy, and optimizing investments in Kazakhstan’s AIDS response were some of the issues discussed in the context of developing a new national strategy on HIV.

The issue of HIV prevention among young people was also highlighted during a ceremony to appoint Asya Ospanova as an envoy for the UNAIDS Regional Youth Red Ribbon Team, a group of young personalities from 10 countries of eastern Europe and central Asia. In her new role, Ms Ospanova, an actress, singer and television presenter, will raise awareness about HIV and promote tolerance towards people living with HIV among adolescents and young people in Kazakhstan.

The HIV epidemic in Kazakhstan is concentrated among populations at higher risk, such as people who inject drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men and prisoners. The government estimates that more than 18 000 people were living with HIV in the country as of June 2016.