AIDS council may endorse draft gender, HIV policy

[Guest guest]

AIDS council may endorse draft gender, HIV policy

Aarti Dhar

NEW DELHI: The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has sought

time from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to chair the second meeting

of the National Council on AIDS (NCA), which is likely to endorse the

draft Gender and HIV Policy.

The first meeting, in February 2006, drew the road map for

mainstreaming the HIV component into policies and programmes of the

government, corporate and civil society organisations.

The government also plans to make jobs mandatory to HIV-positive

people under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and

one question on HIV/AIDS compulsory in all board examinations. A

pension scheme for HIV-positive widows is another plan.

STD treatment in prisons

Among the government's major initiatives include providing treatment

for sexually transmitted infections in prisons that would require

amendments to jail manuals for supply of condoms, mandatory training

of Station House Officers and above in HIV/AIDS and care and support

to people living with HIV and their families, and rehabilitation

measures.

As part of phase III of the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP),

it has been decided to provide a larger impetus to mainstreaming.

Accordingly, a formal structure is in place, including a central

mainstreaming cell at the NACO that has been engaging government

agencies, business sector and civil society organisations to adopt

HIV interventions in their places of work.

Workplace policy coming

A national workplace policy, a joint initiative of the NACO and the

Ministry of Labour and Employment, is being finalised.

The NACO has deployed a consultant each in the ministries of Rural

Development, Panchayati Raj, Tourism and Urban Development to

establish mainstreaming units for identifying entry points in schemes

for HIV/AIDS interventions.

Similarly, mainstreaming units, staffed by specialists, have been

established in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and

Chhattisgarh for focussed interventions at various levels. State

Councils on AIDS have also been established in 22 States and Union

Territories that work with State AIDS Control Societies for

mainstreaming HIV interventions.

Multisectoral response

Constituted in 2005, the NCA aims at facilitating multisectoral

response to the epidemic, making HIV a development challenge and not

merely a public health problem. It is chaired by the Prime Minister

and comprises 31 ministries, seven Chief Ministers and leading

corporate and civil society representatives.

All government ministries and departments are expected to develop a

HIV/AIDS sub-plan, establish a dedicated HIV mainstreaming cell,

adopt and implant the HIV workplace policy in the ministries,

departments and public sector undertakings, and incorporate HIV

components in the training plans while disseminating and displaying

information at work sites.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/25/stories/2008062555971500.htm