Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 20, 2014 – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported a Regional Migrants Forum to discuss tuberculosis (TB) prevention and treatment among migrants in Central Asia. Tajik Government and non-governmental partners cooperated to conduct the event, which was funded by USAID through the USAID Dialogue on HIV and TB project. Approximately 40 representatives from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan working in the field of TB prevention and control participated in the forum.

Due to poverty, unemployment, increasing disparity in wages between the South (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic) and rapidly developing countries of the North (Kazakhstan), labor migration is a dominant trend in the countries of Central Asia. Modern migration entails conditions that often fuel health inequities and may expose migrants to increased health risks and negative health outcomes. Consequently, migration has become a key social determinant of individual health status. The resurgence of TB in Central Asia clearly illustrates the role of social, economic and political factors in the spread of TB. Migration increases TB-related morbidity and mortality among migrants and surrounding communities. According to the Republican Tuberculosis Control Center, among officially registered TB cases in Tajikistan, the proportion of migrant workers increased from 13.5% in 2011 to 17.3% in 2013.

The two-day Regional Forum offered an opportunity to discuss the USAID Dialogue project’s achievements and obstacles, and to develop a strategy to promote the project’s activities that target migrants in Central Asia. Accordingly, the participants at the forum agreed to improve partnership among countries and strengthen tuberculosis monitoring and control mechanisms.