USAID Supports HIV Prevention through Counseling and Testing

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN – On September 26-27 and 29-30, the USAID Quality Health Care Project will support two-day training courses on HIV voluntary counseling and testing for 50 health care workers from outpatient clinics in Almaty and Temirtau. The Quality Health Care Project will conduct these workshops as part of its five-year program to strengthen public health systems in Central Asia and to improve the health of the region’s population.
    
Populations at high-risk of contracting HIV are often deterred from accessing public health services due to real or perceived stigma and discrimination by health care workers. To increase access to testing and counseling services at health care facilities for vulnerable populations, the USAID training course is focused on reducing stigma and discrimination among health care workers and improving communication skills to identify individuals at risk for HIV and encourage them to undergo counseling and testing.

Increasing access to voluntary counseling and testing in Central Asia is an important component of HIV prevention. By increasing knowledge of status among at-risk populations, HIV-positive individuals are more likely to begin treatment at an earlier stage and to engage in positive behavior change to reduce the chance of HIV transmission to others.

Over the past decade, USAID has worked to prevent the spread of HIV in Central Asia and to improve the quality of care received by people living with HIV. Over the next several years, the USAID Quality Health Care Project will work to improve the health status of Central Asians by building the capacity of public health systems to better meet the needs of vulnerable groups and to improve public health responses to regional health priorities, especially HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is proud to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2011. USAID was created in 1961 by American President John F. Kennedy and is funded by the American people. Since 1992, USAID has supported local efforts to improve economic growth, governance, and the quality of health and education in Kazakhstan. For more information about USAID programs, please visit our website at http://centralasia.usaid.gov.