Over 200 youth have fun at a TB awareness event sponsored by USAID at the State Conservatory in Tashkent.

USAID

Growing tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS epidemics pose significant threats to Uzbekistan’s public health system and to the country’s health and economic development. Uzbekistan has a very high TB burden; TB incidence is the fifth highest among the 53 countries of the World Health Organization’s European Region. The country also has high and rapidly growing rates of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. Located along the illicit drug transport corridor from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan also is faced with a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, fueled largely by people who inject drugs, but which is also spreading through sexual transmission from intravenous drug users to their sexual partners.

U.S. government programs focus on increasing access to key services to help prevent transmission and contain expansion of both TB and HIV. USAID supports activities that improve the delivery of prevention, care and treatment services for TB; enhance the capacities of institutions to address MDR TB; and develop systems to strengthen the diagnosis of MDR TB and improve infection control practices. USAID works with health officials to expand use of patient-centered outpatient treatment approaches. USAID also helps health providers, communities, and patients to understand and address the treatment and care of TB and MDR TB. To address the spread of HIV/AIDS, USAID activities align with Global Fund efforts to increase support for outreach to most-at-risk populations to promote preventive behaviors and support referrals to key services.

Results:

• USAID has delivered outreach on prevention, detection and treatment of TB and HIV/AIDS to more than 4,700 vulnerable people.
• USAID trained over 1,000 medical workers and community leaders to increase community awareness of TB symptoms, prevention, infection control and treatment.
• USAID strengthened the ability of laboratories to identify new TB cases through training for laboratory specialists from all 14 regions of Uzbekistan.
• In collaboration with the Uzbek National TB Program, USAID developed a three-year action plan that will enable the Ministry of Health to more effectively prevent and control MDR TB.