The HIV epidemic in Central Asia is currently in its initial stage (the regional prevalence rate is below 0.01) (World Bank 2003). As in other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries, the majority of those infected are injection drug users (IDUs). The predominant way of transmission is through shared needles and solutions and contaminated blood. Of those who donated blood in 2002 in Tajikistan, 40 percent were not tested for HIV. In Central Asia nearly 80 percent of those infected are men and the majority of those who are HIV positive are under 30.

The low regional HIV prevale…