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Sounding a bugle against HIV

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

One lakh boys and girls to join hands to contain the dreaded disease

NEW DELHI: Over one lakh youth from 10 States covering 28,500 panchayats are all set to start what is being touted as the most massive and aggressive proactive battle against HIV and human trafficking in India.

Harnessing and channelling youth power that accounts for 35 per cent of the total population, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will on January 25 unveil a unique awareness and surveillance programme wherein boys and girls will work towards prevention of trafficking, unsafe mobility and HIV spread at the source level.

The first phase of the project, which is being initiated at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crores, is aimed at capacity building for improvement and informed action on trafficking and HIV, networking advocacy and campaign for multi-sectoral, multi-level responses for improved policy and programmes and to reduce dual stigma for those who are trafficked and are HIV positive. The project also aims to ensure care, support and effective reintegration of those affected.

"As part of the project, youth -- especially those in the villages -- will spread awareness about HIV, carry out an assessment survey to understand the extent of work that needs to be done and maintain records of people getting infected. We are also setting up an information centre for a cluster of twenty villages across the country that will be managed by selected and trained youth. Through these centres they will continue to do work allocated to them while keeping in touch with the local community," says the Director-General of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Shakeel Ahmed.

The project, described as a challenging exercise, will be monitored at three levels -- national, zonal and regional. Also, an external agency would be assigned the duty to conduct the external end-line evaluation and impact study would also be organised at the end of the programme, added an official.

"At present there is no regular and comprehensive reporting mechanism on missing and trafficked persons or migrants information. Migration of infected persons from different parts within the country has been the cause of the emergence of multiple subtype of transmitted form of HIV infection in India. It has also been found that incidence of trafficking of women and children in the country has gone up over the past decade; a majority of trafficking both trans-border and in the country happens for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. A rough and consolidated estimate shows that there are over 2.3 million commercial sex workers in the country of which 25 per cent to 30 per cent are minors," said the Director of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Chandra Shekhar Pran.

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