ISLAMABAD, 3 Dec 2003 (IRIN) - Seven new HIV-positive cases have been diagnosed in the southern province of Sindh, bringing the total of identified cases to 31 since September, according to an official. "Almost all the cases are intravenous drug users, with only a few attributed to sexual contact," Dr Qamar Abbas of the Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) official, told IRIN from Karachi on Wednesday. Full report

ANKARA, 28 Nov 2003 (IRIN) - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched their "AIDS epidemic update 2003" report this week, in which they warned of the rapid expansion of the disease in Central Asia. "The AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia shows no signs of abating. Some 230,000 people were infected with HIV in 2003, bringing the total number of people living with the virus to 1.5 million," the report said, adding that HIV continued to spread in Kazakhstan, while more recent epidemics were now evident in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Full report

ISLAMABAD, 26 Nov 2003 (IRIN) - A special programme launched in October to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan is the first of its kind and will be split up into four key components to help the most vulnerable populations defend themselves against the disease, according to an official. Full report

ISLAMABAD , 30 Sep 2003 (IRIN) - The head of a private voluntary organisation working to help AIDS and HIV-positive patients in the northwest city of Peshawar, has warned of possible long-term ramifications if national health authorities continue to ignore the slow spread of the deadly illness. Full report

ANKARA, 17 Sep 2003 (IRIN) - Recent figures provided by the official Kazakh Republican AIDS Centre reveal an increase in the number of HIV infections through sexual transmission, an important development in Kazakhstan's efforts to mitigate the disease's spread. Full report

BISHKEK, 16 Sep 2003 (IRIN) - The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is to implement a project on gender and HIV/AIDS in Kyrgyzstan - the first such project for the Central Asia region. Of those that contract HIV/AIDS every year in the Kyrgz republic, 55 percent are thought to be female. But the majority of those officially registered with the disease are males.Full report

ANKARA, 5 Sep 2003 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: AFGHANISTAN: Attack on road construction team kills six AFGHANISTAN: Interview with UNODC head on opium production AFGHANISTAN: Defence reforms may reduce faction fighting AFGHANISTAN: Police violently evict Kabul residents Full report

ISLAMABAD, 2 Sep 2003 (IRIN) - An additional seven HIV positive cases have been identified in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh, bringing the total to 24, following the testing of 5,714 intravenous drug users (IDUs) in the province. The cases were identified in Larkana, some 300 km from Karachi, following the start of HIV testing in June of IDU prisoners. Full report

TEMIRTAU , 5 Aug 2003 (IRIN) - Nurali Amonzholov knows all to well the problems of addiction and HIV. The former drug addict and HIV-positive 33-year-old heads up Shapagat, a local NGO based in Temirtau in northeastern Kazakhstan, a city described by health officials as "ground zero" for AIDS in Central Asia. Full report

ISLAMABAD, 24 Jul 2003 (IRIN) - A further eight new HIV positive cases have been identified among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Pakistan's southern Sindh Province, bringing the total to 17. Full report

PAKISTAN: Focus on new HIV/AIDS prevention programme

KAZAKHSTAN: Focus on the battle against HIV/AIDS

IRAN: Focus on intravenous drug usage and HIV/AIDS

KYRGYZSTAN: Focus on HIV/AIDS in the south

PAKISTAN: Special report on educating children about HIV/AIDS