Bangalore- smart cards for sex workers

July 10, 2006

Discounts for India sex workers

By Habib Beary, BBC News, Bangalore

Sex workers are being given smart cards in the southern Indian city of Mysore as

part of a project to combat Aids.

Card holders get discounts at selected shops for groceries and clothes, and some

restaurants, on the condition they have regular health checks.

Officials say this pilot project is the first of its kind in India.

The scheme is sponsored by the Aids India Initiative run by the Bill and Melinda

Gates Foundation. It aims to cover more than 1,000 sex workers.

The card carries all the medical details of the sex worker, who is checked for

sexually transmitted diseases on a regular basis at a clinic in Mysore.

" If they fail to turn up for a check-up every three months, the smart card

automatically becomes invalid, " says Sushena Reza-, of the Karnataka Health

Promotion Trust that is overseeing the scheme.

Extension possible

Ms Reza-, who works at the University of Manitoba in Canada that is playing

a role in the project, says the programme could well be extended to other cities

and towns across India.

" We are already getting calls from different places. Once the pilot project is

completed, we will tabulate the findings and see how the scheme can be

implemented, " Ms Reza- told the BBC.

" Shops and restaurants were initially reluctant to be associated with the

project but eventually agreed.

" Now the card-holders feel they are part of the mainstream. Their

self-esteem has gone up, " she says.

Story from BBC NEWS:

Published: 2006/07/07 18:00:44 GMT

_____________________

Joya Banerjee

e-mail: <joya.banerjee@...>

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