Uzbekistan opts for mandatory HIV testing for migrants. Tajikistan sticks with voluntary testing

Central Asia: Uzbekistan’s plans to test migrants for HIV and Tajikistan’s experience

 

03.07.2025

 

Article published on the rus.azattyk.org website

 

Uzbekistan plans to control HIV/AIDS through mandatory medical testing. A new bill is recommending screening people who have been abroad for more than three months, as well as foreigners entering the country.

 

Officials have explained its introduction by highlighting the growing number of cases among migrant workers. Uzbekistan proposed such a measure several years ago but never implemented it. Experts in neighbouring Tajikistan, which also has high rates of infection among migrant workers, say they are taking a different approach to the problem by focusing on voluntary testing.

 

Why was this bill introduced?

 

A report published by the Uzbek Ministry of Health in 2022 stated that just under a third of those infected with HIV in the country were migrant workers.

 

During discussions on the bill in the Oliy Majlis (Uzbekistan’s Parliament) it was noted that of the 1.7 million citizens returning from abroad last year, only 434,000 (about a quarter) underwent voluntary HIV/AIDS screening. 1500 were diagnosed with disease.

 

Matlab Kuranov, Deputy Head of the Migration Agency under the Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers, told MPs that the rate of HIV infection among migrant workers was getting worse every year.

 

“The number of confirmed HIV cases among migrant workers has increased by 23.7% compared to 2024. When examining the spouses of 1,493 migrants diagnosed with HIV, the infection was discovered in 262 out of the 903 who were tested”, said Kuranov.

 

Screening of Uzbek residents is to be paid for by the State, while foreign citizens will have to meet the costs themselves. The cost of the test for residents is 90,000 soums ($7) and 180,000 soums ($14) for non-residents.

 

Parliament has already adopted the bill during first reading.

 

“A violation of rights”

 

Uzbekistan’s Republican AIDS Centre say that the 90-day timeline was chosen based on what’s involved in the diagnosis of the disease, which manifests itself in the body within three months of infection.

 

If the law is passed, mandatory HIV testing will apply to:

 

  • Uzbek citizens aged 18-60 who have returned to the country, having spent 90 days or more abroad;
  • Foreign citizens and stateless persons with permanent residence in Uzbekistan;
  • Foreign citizens and stateless persons coming to Uzbekistan to work.

 

The MP Nodirek Tilavoldiev of the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Party has called the bill a violation of human rights. “Including the rights to equality, non-discrimination and life. The adoption of the bill is incompatible with Uzbekistan’s obligations under human rights conventions, nearly all of which the country has ratified”, said Tilavoldiev.

 

In response, a member of the Migration Agency reminded the MP that such practices already exist in many other countries and that Russia, where the largest number of Uzbek migrant workers are based, is one of the States with the highest number of HIV cases.

 

A lawyer Botirjon Shermuhammad, founder of the migrant.ru website, agrees. “Travelling to Russia, I found that our countrymen mostly live and work there for nine months or a year, rather than for three months. The risk of infection is extremely high, particularly via sexual contact. We need to be objective about this”, he said.

 

This is not the first time Uzbekistan has decided to introduce mandatory HIV testing. In 2013, the country adopted a law on combating the spread of disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. In 2018, there was a proposal to include it as part of a mandatory medical examination regulation for those who had been abroad for more than three months, but for some unknown reason it was never implemented.

 

Regional context

 

According to official statistics, the number of newly recorded HIV cases among migrant workers in Tajikistan has also risen significantly in recent years, from 17% in 2019 to 32.5% in 2023. Last year, the figure was 16% of the total number of recorded cases. Overall, there are around 17,300 people living with the disease in the country.

 

Up until 2014, Tajikistan had restrictions on the entry and residence of people with HIV, which involved mandatory testing of foreigners arriving in the country. These were lifted eleven years ago.

 

Experts in Tajikistan say that the emphasis is currently on confidentiality and people’s willingness to be tested, rather than using coercion as a way of addressing the problem.

 

According to the Republican Centre for AIDS Prevention and Control, Tajikistan now has more than 60 hubs where people can get tested anonymously on a voluntary basis. There is also an online platform HIVTEST. TJ, as well as the opportunity to order a self-test kit for use at home.

 

Aziza Khamidova, UNAIDS Country Director for Tajikistan, believes that mandatory testing of migrant workers may not only be unworkable but also deeply damaging. For example, she

said that it could increase the stigma by creating a false impression that migrants are the main carriers of the virus.

 

“Such a measure aims to protect public health and control the spread of the infection. But it also raises questions about human rights and risks of discrimination. Fear of the repercussions could lead to people avoiding testing, resulting in a rise in latent cases”.

 

UNAIDS believes that the fight against HIV will be effective when people are not afraid to seek help. This is only possible if individuals can be tested on a voluntary or confidential basis and have access to local health services.

 

“However, coercion may discourage those who need help the most. A more effective approach would be to combine voluntary testing with stronger prevention and support measures. This could include public awareness campaigns explaining the importance of testing and treatment, free and confidential testing, and guarantees of medical and social support for those who are HIV-positive. It is important to create an environment in which migrants themselves will want to check their status, in the knowledge that in the event of a positive diagnosis, they will receive unrestricted help without being judged”, said Khamidova.

 

Galia Khadzhaeva

Nargiz Khamrabaeva

Sanzhar Eraliev

 

Source: https://rus.azattyq.org/a/plany-uzbekistana-testirovat-na-vich-migrantov-i-opyt-tadzhikistana/33462261.html

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