Kerala SACS: Target groups to lead intervention projects

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Kerala SACS: Target groups to lead intervention projects

Staff Reporter, The Hindu. New strategies to combat AIDS

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) has decided to

implement the targeted intervention component of its HIV/AIDS control programmes

directly through the beneficiaries.

KSACS has been targeting many of its HIV control and intervention programmes

among high risk groups like sex workers, intravenous drug users and men having

sex with men (MSMs) with the help of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The new strategy envisages intervention programmes for HIV control, which will

be directly run by the primary stakeholders themselves.

The new strategy is being adopted on the basis of the National AIDS Control

Policy, which advocates that any intervention will be effective only if the

beneficiaries are directly involved in the running of the projects.

Till now, 52 intervention projects for HIV control by KSACS were being run by

different NGOs among sex workers and MSMs.

KSACS has now decided to cut short the number of projects to 36.

The projects have been designed in such a manner that within the next two years,

the NGOs in charge of these should hand over the projects to the primary

stakeholders.

The capacity building programmes and empowerment of the target groups, so as to

equip them to run their own community-based programmes for HIV control, will be

the task of the respective NGOs.

" Our effort is to empower the vulnerable groups like sex workers and drug users

to run their own community-based programmes for HIV control. Initially, the

groups will work under an NGO. The NGOs will make a quiet exit once the

beneficiaries are equipped to run the project on their own. We believe that this

will make the target groups more responsible and inventive in spreading HIV

awareness and in preventing the spread of infection in the community, " a KSACS

official said.

Guidelines

The guidelines for the new strategy was drawn up on the basis of various studies

conducted over the past one-year, with an aim to give a technical direction to

the projects. The studies, conducted by KSACS with the help of NGOs, have put

the number of female sex workers in the State at 54,470, that of MSMs at 30,402

and that of intravenous drug users at 8,154. Targeted intervention programmes on

the new lines have been begun in six urban areas in the State from November 1.

Efforts at capacity building have also been started by the respective NGOs.

Complaints received

KSACS has also used this opportunity to weed some of its existing NGOs out,

against whom there have been complaints of financial malpractices or those who

have not met their targets or those whose performance has not been very

effective.

External evaluation was done of its existing projects handled by NGOs and it has

been decided to retain 30 NGOs who have displayed technical excellence

consistently.

The project implementation record, capacity-building activities among the target

groups and the links successfully forged with other care organisations were the

criteria fixed for evaluation.

KSACS has also sought the cooperation of local bodies in implementing its new

strategy.

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Ajai Kerala SACS <ajai.ksacs@...>