This document presents the World Bank’s HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) country profiles for five countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The profiles are aimed at providing key information on the main characteristics of the epidemics in the subregion, describing differences among the countries, and developing an understanding of the main issues related to the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the control of TB.

The document argues that although the countries of Central Asia are still at the earliest stages of an HIV/AIDS epidemic, there is cause for serious concern due to:

• the steep growth of new HIV cases in the region
• the established related epidemics of injecting drug use, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and TB
• youth representing more than 40% of the total regional population
• the low levels of knowledge about the epidemics.

Based on the information provided by the profiles, the document presents some recommendations for immediate action, which include:

• For regional governments:
  • regional governments should scale up or initiate efforts to establish sentinel surveillance of HIV/AIDS, and to improve surveillance of STIs and TB
  • it is necessary to quickly scale up the HIV/AIDS prevention efforts targeted at highly vulnerable groups
  • all governments should focus on scaling up TB Directly Observed Therapy Short-Course (DOTS) implementation throughout their countries, including prisons, and obtaining satisfactory results.
• For the World Bank and other stakeholders:
  • the HIV/AIDS and TB Country Profiles, and the Central Asia AIDS and TB studies should be presented and discussed in regional workshops with stakeholders, including regional governments and partner organisations
  • there is a need to improve coordination among all stakeholders involved in control of HIV/AIDS, STIs, and TB in Central Asia
  • training in technical areas is needed in the sub region.