Uzbekistan PLACE Study 2003

Previous HIV surveillance in Uzbekistan suggested that the HIV epidemic is concentrated among urban injection drug users, but that HIV has the potential to spread to the general population via heterosexual transmission. The PLACE (Priorities for Local AIDS Control Efforts) protocol was implemented in the Uzbek city of Tashkent in 2002 and 2003 to determine whether there was any overlap between injecting-drug-user and sexual networks, and to determine how HIV-prevention efforts should be focused to be most effective. Key informants identified nearly 2,000 sites where people meet new sexual partners, commercial sex workers solicit clients, and injection drug users socialize. Researchers then interviewed people visiting these sites about their sexual and injecting-drug-use behaviors and attitudes, as well as their receptivity to HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. This 228-page working paper summarizes researchers' findings, provides analysis, and suggests future directions for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Uzbekistan.