Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (February 3, 2012) – From 30 January through 3 February 2012, a delegation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) visited Kyrgyzstan. Main goal of the visit is monitoring of implementation of the Global Fund grants and meeting with partners. The delegation consisted of Maria Kirova, Head of the GFATM Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Sandra Irbe, GFATM Portfolio Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Vitaly Jumagaliev, Senior Civil Society Specialist of the GFATM Partnership Department.
During the visit, the delegation met with Vice Prime Minister Gulnara Asymbekova, Minister of Healthcare Dinara Saginbaeva, representatives of the non-government sector working in the area of HIV. They also participated in the work of the Country Coordination Committee on cooperation with the Global Fund and visited office of the GFATM Grant Management Group in the Kyrgyz Republic. Sandra Irbe and Vitaly Jumagaliev also visited Osh, where they could see progress of implementation of grants and meet with local partner organizations.
The delegation also met with the UNDP team, which is implementing the Global Fund’s grants. According to the Tuberculosis and Malaria Component Coordinator Kubanych Mamatov, currently about 700 patients suffering from multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are provided with food and hygienic products. Moreover, the project covers patients’ transportation costs by buses to medical institutions and back home. This measure is not only a good support for families, but it also motivates for treatment. Besides, according to Mr. Mamatov, the project is working on increasing capacities of the medical specialists working in the MDR-TB facilities: 480 primary healthcare workers, 60 lab staff at TB facilities, 49 phthisiatricians and 50 medical specialists of MDR-TB facilities were trained in 2011.
The HIV Component’s Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Jainagul Baiyzbekova told about the social support provided to people living with HIV in form of food packages (250 persons covered). To date, an open competition has been announced among 5 NGOs and 5 organizations to provide HIV care and support. A plan of activities aimed at this group has been developed for the 1st and 2nd quarters of this year. It is worth noting that PLHIV are receiving uninterrupted antiretroviral therapy through the state institutions (AIDS centers), which are being supplied with diagnostic test kits and other necessary medical products within the GFATM project.
Maria Kirova, Head of the Global Fund Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, noted some positive changes in implementation of the HIV and tuberculosis programmes in Kyrgyzstan. That said, she underlined the good-quality and efficient management of the Global Fund’s grants by the UN Development Programme. Maria Kirova believes that UNDP meets all transparency and efficiency requirements of the Global Fund. She highlighted the importance to further strengthen partnership between UNDP, state authorities and non-government organizations for successful implementation of grants. This will help achieve significant results in the work and what is more important – contribute to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in terms of elimination of three main diseases that take away lives of the largest number of people around the world: AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
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