NOVA project – Evaluating a Microfinance Intervention for High Risk Women in Kazakhstan (2014 – 2019)

Project NOVA was a randomized control trial (RCT) funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), focusing on women engaged in commercial sex work in Kazakhstan. The study assessed the effectiveness of a comprehensive microfinance intervention, including financial literacy and vocational training, against a control group receiving only the HIV risk reduction component. The intervention aimed to reduce new cases of HIV, STIs, and hepatitis C, as well as risks associated with sexual behavior and drug use among women in Almaty and Karaganda regions.

Publications:

• Witte, S. S., Pala, A. N., Mukherjee, T. I., Yang, L. S., McCrimmon, T., Mergenova, G., … & El-Bassel, N. (2023). Reducing partner violence against women who exchange sex and use drugs through a combination microfinance and HIV risk reduction intervention: a cluster randomized trial. AIDS and behavior, 27(12), 4084-4093. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37389675/);
• Vélez-Grau, C., El-Bassel, N., McCrimmon, T., Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., Mergenova, G., … & Witte, S. S. (2022). ‘I never hoped for anything… now I have other plans’: The role of microfinance in HIV intervention for women who use drugs and engage in sex work in Kazakhstan. International social work, 65(4), 663-677. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38031578/);
• Mukherjee, T. I., Pala, A. N., Terlikbayeva, A., Davis, A., Howard, A. A., McCrimmon, T., … & El-Bassel, N. (2022). Social and structural determinants of health associated with police violence victimization: A latent class analysis of female sex workers who use drugs in Kazakhstan. International Journal of Drug Policy, 106, 103750. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35667193/);
• Vélez-Grau, C., El-Bassel, N., McCrimmon, T., Chang, M., Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., … & Witte, S. S. (2021). Suicidal ideation among women who engage in sex work and have a history of drug use in Kazakhstan. Mental health & prevention, 23, 200208. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38031555/);
• El‐Bassel, N., McCrimmon, T., Mergenova, G., Chang, M., Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., … & Witte, S. S. (2021). A cluster‐randomized controlled trial of a combination HIV risk reduction and microfinance intervention for female sex workers who use drugs in Kazakhstan. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 24(5), e25682. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33955170/);
• Yang, L. S., Witte, S. S., Vélez-Grau, C., McCrimmon, T., Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., … & El-Bassel, N. (2021). The financial lives and capabilities of women engaged in sex work: Can paradoxical autonomy inform intervention strategies?. Global journal of health science, 13(6), 69. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37163144/).