Representatives of the ministries of health of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have reconfirmed their commitment to end AIDS by 2030. The ministers made the commitment at a meeting at the Health Council of the CIS, held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 28 April.

Since 1997, the CIS has consistently highlighted the importance of the AIDS response. However, since 2010 the HIV epidemic in the CIS countries has continued to get worse. At the end of 2015, UNAIDS estimates that 1.5 million people were living with HIV in eastern Europe and central Asia, of which more than 90% are in the CIS countries.

The Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Vinay Saldanha, was invited to the meeting to present how the CIS countries can reach the ambitious targets of the Political Declaration on Ending AIDS by taking a Fast-Track approach. He made a special call for reaching the 90–90–90 targets—whereby 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads—zero discrimination and a 75% reduction in new HIV infections by 2020 by rapidly scaling up the quality and coverage of HIV prevention services.

Mr Saldanha also highlighted the recent developments in the Russian Federation, where the Duma is considering a draft law that proposes removing restrictions on the travel and residence of foreigners living with HIV and other infectious diseases.

During the meeting, the ministers also discussed ways for better information exchange between CIS countries on epidemiological emergencies and outlined a plan for the implementation of the CIS health strategy.

It was also decided to further strengthen efforts to promote joint health-care programmes among the CIS countries, in close cooperation with the World Health Organization and UNAIDS.