Third Monitoring AIDS Pandemic Review in the Commonwealth of Independent States “Functional Second Generation Surveillance System: new opportunities and challenges” YEREVAN, 22 February 2011 – National experts from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan together with international experts from UNAIDS, WHO and other international organizations took part in the Third Monitoring AIDS Pandemic Review in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) “Functional Second Generation Surveillance System: new opportunities and challenges” which took place at the Ani Hotel, Yerevan, Armenia. The meeting was organized by Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Participants discussed the existing barriers and gaps in setting up reliable HIV/AIDS surveillance systems in this region and how to accelerate an effective response to the HIV epidemic. “Countries in this region need to scale up responses quickly, bridge the shortfall in financing, and target resources where they will do the most good,” said Ms. Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia. 2010 UNAIDS Global AIDS report shows that the AIDS epidemic is beginning to change course as the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining and AIDS-related deaths are decreasing. This is contributing to the stabilization of the total number of people living with HIV in the world. However, according to the same report, Eastern Europe and Central Asia remain the only regions in the world where new HIV infections are increasing. The number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has almost tripled since 2000 and reached an estimated number of 1.4 million in 2009. Overall, the HIV prevalence is 1% or higher in two countries in this region, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which together account for almost 90% of newly reported HIV diagnoses. There are seven countries in the world where new HIV infection rates have increased by more than 25% between 2001 and 2009; five of these include Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. 2011 marks important milestones in AIDS epidemic and response: 30 years of AIDS, 10 years since the landmark 2001 UNGASS (UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS) Declaration of Commitment, and 5 years since the 2006 High Level Meeting on AIDS where the Universal Access to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support commitment was made. UNAIDS Armenia Office

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