A two-day work meeting to address the implementation of the regional training programme on preparation of Muslim-trainers for prevention of HIV in the countries of Central Asia will open on 6 September in Turkestan (Kazakhstan). The meeting is to be held on the initiative of the UNDP Central Asia AIDS Control Project.

It is planned that the representatives of the Religious Boards of Muslims of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and the heads and teachers of Islamic educational institutions of the region, as well as the representatives of agencies and committees for religious affairs of the said countries will attend. The representatives of the World Vision International Organisation from Uzbekistan will also participate in the meeting.

During the meeting reports will be delivered by the staff of the project – participants of the Central Asian delegation to the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asian-Pacific Region (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 20-23 August 2007) on the statistics of the spread of HIV epidemic in Central Asia and the role of religious leaders in counteracting it.

Particular attention will be focused on the design of the training programme on preparation of Muslim-trainers for the prevention of HIV spread in Central Asia.

Project Executive Director Professor Tilek Meymanaliev said the development of the training programme was a new first-time such initiative for the region. He said it would help Muslim religious leaders combine accurate information on the HIV and AIDS and their religious teachings, spread this educational information and create an additional stimulus for the people to change their lifestyles.