The rapidly developing global HIV pandemic is causing devastating human suffering and a growing socio-economic burden. In many countries, health practitioners are ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with all aspects of the HIV epidemic and its causes and consequences. Currently, many health professionals miss important international developments and direct support due to language and/or geopolitical barriers. As a consequence, those most vulnerable—i.e., young people living with HIV (PLHIV) or at risk of becoming infected—do not receive the prevention, care, treatment and support so desperately needed.

Likewise, tuberculosis (TB) co-infection with HIV is a growing concern. In much of the developing world, as well as in transition economies, multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is spreading at an alarming rate, further burdening HIV-positive individuals, as well as over-burdened or collapsing healthcare systems. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), injecting drug use has been prevalent since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with little or no drug treatment available to those who seek such care and services.

These epidemics impact the lives of young people disproportionately.

For this reason, HCI has chosen to focus its attention on these three epidemics which often have overlapping consequences and incidence—that is, the HIV, TB and drug use epidemics. More specifically, HCI will rely on the latest advancements in information and communications technology appropriate to the context in low-income settings to implement an innovative project designed to improve the ability of healthcare, HIV and drug treatment professionals to address these three epidemics, initially focussing on Central Asia with the ambition of expanding the service to additional countries and regions in the years to come.