DUSHANBE, August 29, Asia-Plus -- The Central Asia AIDS Control Project plans to establish the regional training center for training specialists from Central Asia’s states on working among labor migrants and their families on HIV-prevention problems.  

According to the Dushanbe Office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), IOM jointly with the Central Asia AIDS Control Project launched a project for elaborating modules for prevention of HIV infection among labor migrants and their families under financial support of the World Bank.  “Modules for training specialists on work among migrants will be prepared by the IOM Tajikistan,” the source at the IOM Dushanbe Office said.   

Rukhshona Qurbonova, chief program assistant at the IMO Mission to Tajikistan, said that the aim of elaboration of educational modules is to prepare trainers from among employees of migration agencies, representatives from NGOs, employees of railways, airports, physicians and media employees for work on HIV-prevention issues among labor migrants and members of their families.     

Behavioral Survey among Labor Migrants and their Families on STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and HIV/AIDS conducted by the IOM Tajikistan in cooperation with UNDP CO in Tajikistan, Research Center Sharq and republican AIDS-Prevention Center has shown that only 16.5 percent of labor migrants are aware of ways of transmission and prevention of HIV infection.  

The Central Asia AIDS Control Project also plans to set up regional training centers in Kazakhstan on work among youth, in Kyrgyzstan on prevention of HIV among injecting drug users, and in Uzbekistan on treating HIV-positive persons.