Turkmenistan to require HIV test for those seeking marriage license
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 6 April 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkmenistan to require HIV test for those seeking marriage license, 6 April 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5768ffef13.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 06, 2016
Turkmenistan has passed a law under which all people seeking a marriage license must be tested for HIV.
The law implies that anyone found to be infected with the virus that is the precursor to AIDS would be denied a marriage license.
Reports in state-controlled media on April 6 said the law was enacted "in order to create conditions for forming healthy families and avert the birth of HIV-infected children."
Authoritarian Turkmenistan has given little public information about the extent of HIV infection in the country.
The new law also requires HIV tests for anyone suspected of using narcotics, foreigners seeking work visas, prisoners, and blood donors.
Under the legislation signed by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the government will guarantee free treatment to people infected with AIDS.
In 2002, Turkmenistan's Health Ministry claimed the country had only two cases of HIV and that both patients had been infected outside the Central Asian state.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
