UNI Project – At risk men’s involvement in HIV treatment continuum in the Republic of Kazakhstan (2017 – 2021)

Kazakhstan has a significant need for renewed and innovative HIV prevention and treatment efforts. Kazakhstan is one of the only nine countries that saw >25% increase in HIV incidence in the first decade of this century. Besides, AIDS-related mortality has actually increased 21% between 2005-2011 in Central Asia.

Several lines of evidence point to the value and urgent need for research on at-risk men who in Kazakhstan. Men who have sex with men (MSM) are one of the key at-risk populations that bear the disproportionate brunt of the pandemic. Likewise, drug use and drug injecting are the major factors in HIV infection transmission in Kazakhstan. The UNI project seeks to engage at-risk men who use drugs to get tested for HIV and subsequently link to friendly care and treatment services.