DUSHANBE, July 5, Asia-Plus -- A draft of the new cycle of the National Strategic Plan on HIV/ADIS designed for 2006-2010 is being discussed during a Partnership Forum on HIV/AIDS that opened in Dushanbe today.

According to information from the health Ministry press service, the National Coordination Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has worked out the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.  This strategic plan provides for a series of events to combat HIV/AIDS in the republic.    

Dr. Nafis Sadik, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, is expected to be an honored guest at the Partnership Forum on HIV/AIDS, during which she will present the results of the 2006 High Level meeting on AIDS (May 31-June 2, 2006) and the role of the government, international community and civil society organizations in scaling up efforts.  

The Partnership Forum on HIV/AIDS is a forum for discussion, information sharing, consensus building, joint planning, sharing of experiences and practices and mutual support among all constituencies, including regional representatives. It is held twice a year.

The Partnership Forum consists of the following members: representatives from key ministries and committees: Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of Justice, State Television and Radio Committee, State Youth Committee and Drug Control Agency; civil society organizations, People Living with HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and bilateral and multilateral donors.