HIV Prevention for Injecting Drug Users in Kazakhstan

The proposed study addresses a significant public health threat of HIV, HCV and other STIs among a very high risk population of active IDUs and their sexual partners in Kazakhstan a region that is experiencing one of the fastest rising HIV epidemics in the world. There is a race to develop and implement effective HIV preventive interventions for IDUs and their sexual partners to stem the spread of HIV, HCV and other STIs in Almaty, Shu and other Central Asian towns along drug trafficking routes. The proposed study will test the effectiveness of a couplesbased HIV/STI risk reduction intervention to decrease new cases of HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) and incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as to reduce unsafe injection practices and increase condom use among injecting drug users (IDUs) and their heterosexual, intimate partners in Kazakhstan.