“I am 18 years old and I am already thinking about marriage. Our people marry at an early age. I am afraid that having a HIV status I will not be able to find a boyfriend, which means I will not have a full-fledged family”, says a training participant from Osh, Kyrgyzstan. “Previous trainings which we attended before were always about our HIV status, I am so tired of them. Now for the first time we discussed delicate topics. I was able to ask a question about stains that happen to appear on boys’ underwear and finally understood that it is not dangerous at all”, says a 17 years old training participant. “I have always been shy to discuss ‘those’ topics with my daughters. Now I understand that talking to girls about menstruation and hygiene is necessary and important. I was a teenager myself and I remember how afraid I was to tell my mother about my first menstruation”, says a 44 years’ old mother of a girl with a HIV status. A series of trainings on sexual education and reproductive health for teenagers and young people with HIV status and their parents was conducted in Kyrgyzstan in June - July 2021.  Sexual education still causes a lot of disputes in Kyrgyzstan, but the statistics on early marriages, abortion and high-profile cases of violence against teenagers in the country suggest the importance of its further promotion. According to the National Statistical Committee, in 2019 there were 1,470 cases of abortion in the under-20 group; in 2020 there were 934 such cases. The decrease in statistics occurred against the background of the coronavirus infection, when many girls were not able to get safe abortion services. According to the Kyrgyz Children’s Ombudsperson, in 2020 out of 287 cases of violence against children and teenagers, 151 victims were adolescent girls, and 63 cases were cases of sexual violence.  “Teenagers and young people living with HIV are also subject to various kinds of violence and it is necessary to strengthen the integration of HIV prevention and treatment programs with programs on sexual education and reproductive health. We are convinced that teenagers need comprehensive help, not only trainings on how to accept their status. It is important to develop leadership capacity, teach adolescents to identify violence and destroy self-stigma,” says Ms. Meerim Sarybaeva, UNAIDS Country Director in Kyrgyzstan. The trainings were conducted in partnership with the “Araket Plus” Public Foundation and the national organization “Alliance for Reproductive Health” (ARH), with the support from the Russian Technical Assistance Program, implemented by the UNAIDS Country Office. Ms. Galina Chirkina, Executive Director of ARH says: “The link between sexual and reproductive health and HIV is obvious to specialists who work in this area, but not always evident to ordinary people or teenagers with HIV. At ARH we always mention the comprehensive approach to health issues, about the integration of SRH and HIV programs. We teach young people with HIV the general understanding of how he or she can have a healthy sex life, how to make it safe for himself or herself and his or her partner, and how to plan their family”. Simultaneously with the trainings for teenagers trainings for their parents were organized. Parents need to understand the personal boundaries of teenagers, the importance of interpersonal communication and learn how to talk to their children about difficult and sometimes quite delicate topics. Mr. Uluk Batyrgaliev, is a sexual and reproductive health trainer from ARH. Uluk worked with a group of parents and shared his impressions: “The parents were satisfied with our work; we received many words of gratitude. On the first day of the training they got used to us, but after that they had full trusted in us and told stories of how they or their children got HIV status. Listening to them causes a lot of pain. Most parents are concerned about their children’s future, whether people without HIV status would want to meet their children who have HIV was one of the main questions all the parents asked us. I was struck by the persistent self-stigmatization in the parenting community. For me as a person who values freedom of choice, it was surprising to hear about parents making arrangements with each other in advance and marrying their children so as not to infect the “clean” ones. The word “clean” is used by the parents in relation to people without HIV. It seems to me that this attitude creates incredible self-stigmatization within the family and makes teenagers even more depressed”. The previous training sessions for parents dealt with contraception, how adults can tell their grown-up children about contraceptive methods and show them a condom that will protect not only from unwanted pregnancy, but also from STIs. The parents of adolescents with HIV learned that violence can have many forms and types. The majority of teenagers listen to the people who respect their opinions and do not try to devalue their personal experiences.  Being aware of teenagers’ rights to their own point of view, parents and adults can gain the full trust of adolescents thereby helping young people with HIV to accept their own status. The new UNAIDS strategy envisages greater integration of HIV and sexuality education programs. This integration will ensure equality of approaches, the rights of teenagers and young people with HIV status to sexual education and reproductive health.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Youth Ambassadors is a project implemented in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2019 through close cooperation of the UN System in the Kyrgyz Republic and the State Agency for Youth, Physical Culture and Sports in the Kyrgyz Republic. The goal of the project is to spread the ideas of sustainable development and the SDGs in the Kyrgyz Republic through youth activism. From September 2019 to June 2020 the first cohort of the 34 Youth Ambassadors hosted over a hundred events, having told about sustainable development and the SDGs to over 12 000 people. The report on the activities of the first cohort of the Youth Ambassadors can be found here.  In 2020 the project was split into two stages. In the first stage (the “SDG Academy”) 20 youth activists from the whole country were selected from 300 applications for intensive learning in the field of sustainable development and skills training in communication and designing social projects. The five top performing SDG Academy participants were selected to become SDG Youth Ambassadors. In May 2021, a new group of five SDG Ambassadors will take up their duties. Their activities include promoting the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda at the level of peers, communities and the whole country and mobilizing volunteers to support the achievement of the SDGs through organizing events of various formats, public dissemination of information about sustainable development and its achievement in the Kyrgyz Republic and participation in events related to sustainable development as speakers and youth experts. SDG Youth Ambassadors in 2021 are Ms. Miraida Almazbekova, Ms. Aigul Davranova, Ms. Aliia Mamyrkanova, Ms. Eliza Uraimova and Mr. Danil Tsoi.   Ms. Miraida Almazbekova, 18 years old, Batken +996 706 780 781, miraida20022708@gmail.com Student of the Kyrgyz-Turkish University "Manas". For three years, she has been actively involved in public events on climate change issues, and also works to eliminate inequalities in education, support those in need, respect human rights, and improve the cleanliness and potential of the city of Batken. Participates in more than seven volunteer groups, including AIESEC, Enactus, Biota and the “Elim Barsykby?” Fund. Together with these organizations, she has implemented many social projects that have helped change the lives of some people. As a future environmental engineer and an SDG Youth Ambassador, Miraida wants to focus on the SDGs related to environmental issues. ### Ms. Aigul Davranova, 21 years old, Bishkek +996 552 565 668, davranovaaigul@gmail.com In everyday life, she deals with issues of gender equality, quality education and legal awareness of youth. Now she is implementing the projects “School of Leadership” on leadership skills and “School of Law” on legal literacy for young people, contributing to the development of Kyrgyzstan. She works as a deputy director in the public fund “Country Network of Women Living with HIV” and helps women with HIV-positive status to develop, acquire new skills, and also provides them with legal assistance. Conducted a rapid assessment study on the services and needs of children living with HIV. She first learnt about the SDGs when the United Nations Development Program began recruiting volunteers. Most interested in SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequality). As an SDG Ambassador, she plans to raise awareness among the population on issues that could change people's attitudes towards certain issues, such as girls' career choices after high school. ### Ms. Aliia Mamyrkanova, 22 years old, Bishkek +996 555 722 780, aliyamamyrkanova@gmail.com Activist. Acts on the principle “think globally, act locally”. She learnt about the SDG concept in 2016, during her studies she organized six social projects, including teaching youth leadership skills and English. She believes that if as many people as possible are made aware of global problems, then they can be solved faster. Most interested in SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities). As an SDG Ambassador, she plans to spread the ideas of the SDGs in Kyrgyzstan, with an emphasis on working with youth, activists and volunteers. ### Ms. Eliza Uraimova, 18 years old, Osh +996 755 100 517, uraimovaeliza02@gmail.com Believes that social cohesion and stability in society play a key role on the path to development, but they can only be achieved through quality education. Through volunteering and activism, she spreads ideas of tolerance and non-discrimination towards women, girls and ethnic minorities. Her main goal in life is to contribute to the development of society. She learned about the SDGs from a friend who inspired her to become a member of the SDG Academy. Of all the SDGs, she is most interested in SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), because she considers them to be key for the prosperity of our society. As an SDG Ambassador, she plans to spread ideas about the SDGs among compatriots, inspiring young people to self-development, and guide others to develop in the field of the SDGs. ### Mr. Danil Tsoi, 19 years old, Bishkek +996 552 427 844, danil.tsoi.ylsp@gmail.com 3rd year student of the Law Faculty of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University. Involved in volunteering for about two years. Got acquainted with the concept of the SDGs in 2019. He began his career as a volunteer at the United Nations Development Programme, now he runs the Public Platform “Young Leaders for Social Progress (YLSP)”, where, with a team of initiative youth, he is developing and implementing creative initiatives and projects to promote the SDGs in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. He has implemented many youth initiatives and events, being the inspiring force and coordinator of the “Law in Action”, “L-CORP” projects, the #SDGGamesKG event campaign and other social events. He is also the UN Youth Delegate from the Kyrgyz Republic for 2021-2022. Danil actively promotes the SDGs with a focus on goals that are directly or indirectly related to the problems of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation, with topical issues of the development of legal institutions and the protection of human rights, as well as quality education of young people and the introduction of new approaches and innovative methods of solving such problems. As an SDG Ambassador, he plans to work on the creation of a volunteer corps, the organization of a regional forum on the SDGs, the development of an interactive SDG game, a youth leadership program and a scientific conference for young scientists. Reference: The Sustainable Development Goals are the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 2030 Agenda), a comprehensive international document adopted in 2015 by 193 UN member states, including Kyrgyzstan. The Goals cover all of the major challenges of humankind and set multiple targets for achievement by 2030.

Ms. Elmira Sazanova, a mother of four children and the owner of a small sewing workshop, lives in one of the villages in the At-Bashy rayon of the Naryn oblast. “Once I dreamed of only two sewing machines, but now I have my own workshop. You need to dream and believe in success, and, of course, work hard,” says Elmira. There is not much work for women in remote regions of Kyrgyzstan. Often busy with household chores, raising children, and helping their husbands in the household, women stay at home and do not make efforts to develop their own business. For example, the share of women employed in agriculture in Kyrgyzstan is 39.2% of the total number of employed people, while only 20.6% of operating economic entities in agriculture have women as leaders. However, Elmira was one of those dreamers, but she always believed in success and strived to achieve her goals. Due to lack of work in the 90s, Elmira began to sew robes on her old typewriter and sell them to her neighbors and friends. Then she realized that she could earn money on this business. Though she needed at least a couple of professional sewing machines for full-fledged work, she did not have the funds to buy them. Four UN agencies – UN Women, FAO, WFP, and IFAD – launched the “Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment” Project aimed at improving food security, promoting income-generating activities, increasing participation in public decision-making, and creating a gender-sensitive culture in society. The programme targets vulnerable rural women and those living below the national poverty line of 2700 KGS a month. “In 2014, I found out about this project. They told me that they could help with starting a business. To be honest, I did not believe in this, but I still participated in the project, because I was interested, I went to trainings, received a lot of useful information. We have prepared and sent a project to open a sewing workshop. And then one day the sewing machines arrived. And there were so many! I was surprised and confused: what to do with so many sewing machines, where to get the workers? But I overcame my fear and started working,” recalls Elmira. Of course, it was not without difficulties. First, I had to look for seamstresses, and then orders. Financial difficulties arose because I needed to pay employee salaries, and the villagers could not afford to constantly buy new clothes. Families of seamstresses opposed to their work. Even Elmira's husband initially discouraged her from her own business, but she did not give up and continued to work, despite all the difficulties. Now the workshop is functioning stably, and over the years dozens of women have worked in it. Elmira hires even in the absence of experience, explaining that almost every woman can be trained in sewing; the main thing is that she has a desire to learn and work. Now the workshop serves the local population and also sews small batches of orders coming from the capital city. “We are very friendly here and help each other. We don't even buy clothes for a long time, we sew everything for ourselves, and when someone needs to go over some place, we can quickly sew a beautiful dress with the whole team. Difficulties first arose during the pandemic when orders stopped. But we had accumulated work and, in principle, we did not stop production, and then we began to sew masks, because as you remember that at first there was a shortage and people could not find masks in pharmacies,” Elmira says. The women are also supported by the local authorities, who have allocated a building for the workshop. The owner of the enterprise notes that the main thing is to start with small steps, to work hard, and then dreams will surely come true. In this case, of course, family support is important so that women are not forced to quit their jobs halfway. To do this, it is necessary as a society to promote the idea that women should not only be housewives; it is important to remind society that women can also work, and can do it successfully, benefiting both the family and society as a whole.

Tursunai Akmatova lives with her family in the village of Baizak in the Naryn region. After graduation, she started work as a teacher in a rural school, but thanks to the project she became a member of the local kenesh. “I believe that thanks to this project, many women were able to awaken their ‘I’, they believed in themselves and started doing what they love,” says Tursunai. In recent years, the representation of women in local councils (aiyl keneshes) has greatly decreased, in most cases, men were elected as members, and in some villages, women themselves believed that politics was only for men. Thus, only men were the members in a number of ayil keneshes. Only in 2019, thanks to a change in legislation, a quota was approved - now in local keneshes, at least 30% of deputies must be women. Four UN agencies – UN Women, FAO, WFP, and IFAD – launched the “Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment” Project aimed at improving food security, promoting income-generating activities, increasing participation in public decision-making, and creating a gender-sensitive culture in society. The programme targets vulnerable rural women and those living below the national poverty line of 2700 KGS a month. Tursunai Akmatova became a member of the kenesh in 2017, even before the approval of this quota. Thanks to the project, she was able to overcome existing stereotypes and began to contribute to the development of her village, where she was born and raised. “While participating in this RWEE project, I understood a lot, realized what needs to be said so that we can be heard that women have the same rights and opportunities as men. In 2017, I put forward my candidacy for the local kenesh and was able to win, our society supported me. I was able to develop my leadership skills, I was able to prove that politics is not only for men, that women can and should do it too, ”says Tursunai. As part of her work in the local kenesh, she tries to contribute to the development of the village, the development of the local community. In addition to social work, she also develops women's entrepreneurship; together with like-minded women, she founded a fund, which already includes 50 women. Together they are engaged in farming, growing vegetables and fruits, and in 2018 donors entrusted them with the management of a new workshop in which they are engaged in the procurement of canned goods to order. “Over the years, I have been able to achieve a lot and am very grateful to my husband and family, who always support me. My husband is an activist himself and he practically forced me to do all this, although initially I was against it because I already had a job. But then I was so fond of all this, work in the kenesh, a fund, a self-help group. I just cannot imagine my life without all this now, ”Tursunai notes. During the pandemic, she, together with like-minded people, helped the villagers by distributing food packages and personal protective equipment to needy families. It is difficult to ensure a decent life in remote villages without such initiative women, therefore Tursunai Akmatova urges all compatriots to strive for the best, defend their opinion in society, and try to contribute to the development of both the local community and the country as a whole.