The Hindu : Foundation to fund AIDS prevention programme

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

Foundation to fund AIDS prevention programme

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, MARCH 22. Karnataka, which has one of the highest number of HIV-infected people in the country, is likely to benefit by an initiative launched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Billed as the largest commitment of the foundation in any single country, the foundation has released Rs. 920 crore for India to implement the HIV/AIDS prevention programme through Avahan in six States. Of the sum, Rs. 115 crore has been earmarked for Karnataka.

Avahan will intervene in approximately 100 districts located in six States and work with female and male sex workers, their clients, drug users, and other high risk groups to control the spread of the disease. The six States where intervention has been planned include Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, and Nagaland.

The foundation's initiatives were launched in Mysore recently. They are a part of the announcements made by Bill Gates during his visit to India.

According to figures made available, Karnataka has more than five lakh HIV infected people, with an adult prevalence rate of 1.7 per cent. A recent study has shown that in a high prevalence region in the State, AIDS is the single largest cause of death in the 15 years to 49 years age group, accounting for up to 17 per cent of the deaths.

According to official figures, HIV prevalence in India among adults is 0.9 per cent to 1.4 per cent, with 4.6 million infected adults. Many districts in Karnataka have prevalence levels of five per cent to six per cent.

The interventions planned by the foundation include the implementation of a comprehensive integrated package of services. Core interventions will consist of treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI), behaviour change communication, condom promotion, and harm reduction. Additional interventions include offering voluntary counselling, testing services, care, and support.

The HIV prevention initiative in Karnataka will be undertaken along with the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) and its partners. The activities will cover 15 of the 27 districts in the State, with a special emphasis on national highways.

The Avahan initiative will provide grants to the University of Manitoba, Canada, the Transport Corporation of India, and Population Services International, who will work in collaboration with the KSAPS to implement HIV prevention programmes for groups facing a high risk of infection. The University of Manitoba will be the lead partner in implementing the project to reduce HIV transmission among commercial sex workers, their clients, and high-risk men. The project will also conduct outreach programmes to popularise the use of condom and improve access to quality treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Across the six States, the target group includes nearly three lakh sex workers with tailored programmes for urban brothel and street-based sex workers as well as select rural-based commercial sex workers, and over 4.5 million of their clients, including two million clients frequenting urban brothels, two million local urban transport workers, and five lakh migrant workers. The programme will also cover 60,000 drug users.

Avahan will also monitor 7,000 km. of highways in the country by focussing on the target groups which will include inter-state truckers, helpers, and highway based commercial sex workers. Establishment of clinics for treating STI, provision of vans, franchised STI clinics, and social marketing of condom will receive attention.

The programme will also focus on leadership and learning environment for effective prevention and treatment of HIV/STI.

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