A Gender Perspective on HIV Prevalence in Uzbekistan

Despite the fact that men constitute the majority (55 percent) of people living with HIV in Uzbekistan, it is women who are disproportionately affected by the virus and related socioeconomic issues. Because of the inequalities that influence every aspect of their life, it is more difficult for women to have access to information about HIV and its transmission, to test for HIV, to receive a consultation, or to access treatment.

Gender inequality and stereotypes, especially in health, education, and command over economic resources, make women more vulnerable to HIV and to other related conditions. It is also, for example, mostly women’s burden to take care of HIV-positive family members.

Uzbekistan registered its first case of HIV in 1987 and, until 1998, only 51 people were reported HIV-positive in the country. Over the past eight years, the number of people living with HIV in Uzbekistan has steadily increased from 31,088 in 2016 to an estimated 45,000 in 2022, following a similar trend to the demographic growth observed in the same period.

Forty-five percent of those living with HIV in Uzbekistan are women. The gender imbalance in HIV cases is formally explained by endemic regional and internal migration factors: More men than women migrate, either abroad or within the country, and men are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and contribute to the spread of HIV once back home. Labor migration has been prevalent for a long time in Uzbekistan – as of 2022, official data reports 1.8 million Uzbek labor migrants registered in Russia alone. But this explanation further stigmatizes migrant behavior, conveying the message that migration is somehow a key factor behind the HIV epidemic in Uzbekistan.