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P-ACT News Newsletter October - December 2008 |
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P-ACT News
PFI
Volume 1/ Issue 2
October- December 2008
From the Desk of the Executive Director
In India 2.5 million people are estimated to be living with
HIV/AIDS. Various factors like poverty, stigma and
discrimination, unequal status of women, migration and mobility,
disease burden among high risk groups and their interaction with
bridge and general population make India vulnerable to HIV/
AIDS. To reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in our country,
it is crucial to address stigma and discrimination and enhance
access to treatment, care and support services for People Living
with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Population Foundation of India
along with partner agencies are committed to provide care and
support services in the fourteen states of India funded through
The Global Fund. Our endeavor is to improve the quality of life
of PLHA.
A. R. Nanda
Executive Director
Population Foundation of India
Message from the Project Director
The Global Fund Round 4 and Round 6 Programs are being
implemented across 14 states in India and aim to strengthen care
and support services for PLHA. The programs have strengthened
130 District Level Networks (DLN) of PLHA in the six high
prevalence states and 56 DLNs in the 3 highly vulnerable states
of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The DLN
is a registered community based oganization of PLHA, which is
a platform for them to provide mutual support and improve their
quality of life. The DLNs coordinate with the ART centers and
Community Care Centres to promote treatment education and
facilitate adherence.
The program has been working closely with various tiers of the
public health systems. At the state level regular Program
Coordination Meetings are being organized with the State AIDS
Control Societies ( SACS) to discuss and review program
planning and implementation. At the district level, coordination
with the Anti Reteroviral Treatment Centers , Community Care
Centers and DLNs have been developed to improve the referrals
and monitor adherence to ARV treatment. Advocacy meeting are
being organized for Panchayati Raj Institutions, Integrated Child
Development Scheme and other district and block level health
services to mainstream HIV/AIDS and focus on reducing stigma
and discrimination. Interaction meetings at the district level are
being facilitated to break the barriers between different health
structures like the ART centre, ICTC, other health programs
and the PLHA. The meetings also provide an opportunity for
PLHA to get insights into legal issues and their rights. The
programs are being implemented in close coordination with the
national plan to address the needs of PLHA and enhance their
access to services.
Dr Mary Verghese
Project Director
Population Foundation of India
A success story from Bagolkot, CCSC, Karnataka
Mrs. Neelamma (name changed) is a thirty- eight year old illiterate and psycho-social counselling at the centre. At the centre
widow living in Karnataka with her son. Ten years ago her she received in-patient care for seven days and learnt about
husband who was suffering from HIV passed away. He was the HIV/AIDS, hygiene, CD4 count, Opportunistic Infections,
sole bread winner of the family. After her husband’s demise, her nutrition, ART, side effects of ART and importance of
life was devastated and her health also started deteriorating. She adherence to treatment. This helped her to overcome her
visited a doctor who suggested a HIV test. She was found psychological problems and also agreed to start ART. On
positive. She did not take any treatment and her health worsened. discharge, she was given nutritional support and gradually her
A health worker from CCSC Bagalkot visited her home and health improved. She started earning. Now she extends help to
brought her to CCSC. By then, Neelamma had lost all hope and other positive women who are still suffering and are in need of
had developed suicidal tendencies. She was given physical care a friend.
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Programme Updates
World AIDS Day 2008
World AIDS Day was observed on 1st December 2008 by PFI and
the partner organizations of the Global Fund Round 4 and
Round 6 programme. On this event Programme Management
Unit (PMU), New Delhi released the first edition of its newsletter,
‘P- ACT News’ and a ‘Peer Educator Kit’ consisting of a diary for
peer educator, two flip books on ‘Living with HIV/AIDS’ and
‘Managing HIV/AIDS’ and four leaflets on HIV/AIDS. The
kit is available in six languages, namely, English, Hindi, Telugu,
Tamil, Kannada and Marathi. This kit is meant for peer educators
who are engaged in providing information on prevention,
treatment, care and support.
‘P-ACT NEWS’, the first newsletter of Round 4 and Round 6
Programme on Care and Support being released on 1st December, 2008
PFI Nagaland unit along with Network of Peren District People
Living with HIV/AIDS (NPDP+) observed the World AIDS
Day under the theme ‘Leadership- Lead, Empower, Deliver’ at
Jalukie. This day was observed for the first time in Jalukie and
around 450 participants attended the program. Community Care
Centers (CCC) of Rajasthan and Gujarat observed the World
AIDS Day to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS among the
general community. The day was marked by meetings, rallies,
nukkad natak and Candle Night March in different districts of
the states. PFI Andhra Pradesh Unit in collaboration with Freedom
Foundation organized a get together for widow women living
with HIV who are registered with Comprehensive Care and
Support Centre, Guntur.
PFI state unit of Tamil Nadu along with Tamil Nadu Network
of People with HIV/AIDS (TNP+) organized a rally and
convention on the World AIDS Day. Around 600 PLHA including
women and children participated in this rally. The rally was
inaugurated by the Collector of Tiruchy, Thiru Sowdayya and
MLA Thiru Anbil Periyasamy.
In congruence with the theme of World AIDS Day, a one day
workshop titled “Take the Lead” was organized by PFI Regional
Unit, Uttar Pradesh along with Uttar Pradesh Network of Positive
People (UPNP+) on 8th December 2008, at MDC Training Center,
Rally of PLHA on the World AIDS Day in Tamil Nadu
Indira Nagar in Lucknow. Dr Rajeev Chaudhury (AD,
Coordination, UPSACS), representatives from UNICEF, USAID,
REVAMP- CARE India were present in the workshop. PFI and
UPNP+ together declared a Youth Forum which would carry out
advocacy with different stakeholders and ensure involvement of
PLHA in government welfare schemes. The Forum would act as
a bridge between the services and the community.
Cricket Match- Ashok Pillai Ever Rolling
Trophy
Rajasthan Network of Positive People (RNP+) organized a state
level cricket match for PLHA at the Sawai Maan Singh (SMS)
Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan on 21st December 2008. The event
State level cricket match for PLHA at SMS Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan
aimed to strengthen public and private partnership towards the
cause of HIV/AIDS and to contribute resources to set up a
holistic care home at Jalore in Rajasthan for children orphaned by
HIV/AIDS. Mr. Parmesh Chand, Additional Chief Secretary,
Mr. R. K Meena, Principal Health Secretary, Dr R. N. D. Purohit,
Project Director, RSACS and Dr. Sudha Gupta, Director
Doordarshan, Jaipur Rajasthan participated in the event. Nearly
400 PLHA including 80 children infected and affected with HIV/
AIDS took part in this event.
Interaction meetings
Interaction meetings of PLHA and service providers were
conducted at different districts of Round 4 and Round 6
programme implementation states. These meetings helped in
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Interaction Meeting at Hotel Ambar in Bhuranpur, Madhya Pradesh
breaking the barriers between the different health care providers
like the ART centre, ICTC, other health programs and the PLHA.
It also gave them an opportunity to get insights into their legal
rights and how and when they can avail legal help. Through these
meetings, the participants were updated on HIV/AIDS,
importance of treatment, treatment adherence and nutrition.
IEC Orientation
PFI- PMU had organized an IEC orientation workwhop on
17th November 2008 for PFI and INP+ representatives from
Round 4 and Round 6 program units. In continuation to the
orientation, state units of Round 4 and regional units of Round
6 held similar IEC orientation workshops in their respective states.
In these workshops the participants from District Level Networks,
Positive Living Centres, Treatment Counselling Centres,
Comprehensive Care and Support Centers and Community Care
Centres were oriented to the content, effective distribution and
utilization of IEC material. Participants performed role plays
using the flip charts and leaflets for better understanding of
the content. IEC kits were distributed to SDPs in the
workshop.
invited the DLN members to participate in the Zila level
meetings and sensitize the general population.
A state level advocacy meeting on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS
was organized by PFI with the support of Madhya Pradesh AIDS
Control Society (MPSACS), Madhya Pradesh Network for People
Living with HIV/AIDS (MPNP+) and HLFPPT on 15th
December 2008 at Hotel Palash (Bhopal). State level functionaries
from government departments, Health & Family Welfare, Women
& Child Development, Police and representatives from UNICEF,
HLFPPT and MPNP+ attended the meeting. The meeting
emphasized on providing travel concessions to PLHIV accessing
ARV, greater co-operation from the Police in the Targeted
Intervention projects especially among female sex workers, the
need for improving voluntary HIV testing among pregnant
women in the Anganwadi Centers and during the Mahila Jagriti
Camps organized by the Women and Child department. It was
felt that there is a need to improve coordination with Panchayati
Raj Institutions, Integrated Child Development Scheme and
ASHA workers under the National Rural Health Mission to
promote voluntary testing among pregnant women and link
them to Prevention of Parent To Child Transmission (PPTCT)
services.
Improving the Quality of Services
through COPE
Client-Oriented and Provider-Efficient (COPE) is a package of
participatory QI tools and approaches developed by
EngenderHealth for use in improving health care delivery in low
resource settings. COPE has been implemented at Positive Living
Advocacy Meeting
An advocacy meeting was organized under the Round 6 PACT
Program in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh on 30th December, 2008.
The workshop aimed to involve the district level departments
and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), promote accessibility
of services to PLHA without stigma and discrimination and
to mainstream HIV/AIDS. Ms. Sangeeta Pandey, Consultant
of Mainstreaming Division, UPSACS, Mr Ajay Kumar Shukla,
District Magistrate, Gorakhpur, Dr Mishra, CMO along with
partner organizations- HLFPPT, Gramin Sewa Sansthan and
UPNP+ participated in the workshop. Mr Shukla, District
Magistrate, said that opportunistic infections would be treated
at all PHC and CHC level and PLHA would be included in all
welfare schemes. Representative from the Zila Panchayat
Action Plan Development during COPE Implementation
Centre (PLC) Singarayakonda, Andhra Pradesh. The COPE
exercise enabled staff to identify areas and issues pertaining to
service delivery which need improvement at their site and develop
action plan. Some of the areas identified include infection
prevention, RTI/STI training, proper waste disposal, appropriate
written policies on confidentiality and discrimination.
Implementing COPE package is an effort to improve service
provision at the care and support facilities with the involvement
of the site staff.
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Important Meetings and workshop
• Regional Training Workshop on “Monitoring and
Evaluation” was held in Cochin, India from 21 to 23
October, 2008. The South and West Asia Regional Team of
The Global Fund organized this workshop which was
facilitated by The Global Fund Secretariat with input from
technical partners. This training workshop aimed to strengthen
the M&E capacity of Principal Recipients and the Sub
Recipients to best utilize the Performance Based Funding
system of The Global Fund. The workshop had an interactive
focus and covered performance-based frameworks and The
Global Fund reporting requirements, M&E Plans and M&E
systems strengthening. The Workshop was attended by
representatives of PFI, CBCI and HLFPPT. Dr. Phanindra
Babu, PFI made a presentation on best practices in M&E.
• South and West Asia Grant Implementation &
Management Meeting was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka
from 10-12 November, 2008. Participants from the South
and West Asian countries participated in this three day regional
meeting. The meeting was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister
of Health, Sri Lanka Mr. Nimal Siripala De Silva. From PFI,
Dr. Mary Verghese, Mr. S. Vijay Kumar, Mr. Subrat Mohanty
and Mr. Bijit Roy participated. In this meeting disease specific
overviews were presented for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
and important discussions on disease specific guidance on
effective scaling -up and best practices took place.
• SAARC Second Conference on “Working Together to
Fight against TB, HIV/AIDS and Respiratory Diseases”
was held on 15th to 18th December 2008 at Kathmandu,
Nepal. The Conference highlighted the achievements and
challenges of TB and HIV/AIDS control, while emphasizing
partnership building among different sectors involved in the
control measures. From PFI, Ms. Rashmi Sharma presented a
paper on “Treatment Adherence - Involvement of PLHA” at
the conference.
Tale of a discordant couple
Mr. Karim Malik (Name changed), aged 26, lived in a joint family
with his wife Ruksana and two children in a slum of Warrangal,
Andhra Pradesh. He was also physically involved with some of his
male friends. In the year 2004, he developed genital ulcers and
suffered from frequent fever. He visited a doctor who prescribed
him some medicines and referred him for HIV test. His test result
was positive but he was not informed about its implications. After
six months, Karim became severely ill. He visited government hospital
where the doctors again referred him for HIV test. The test report
was positive. The Counselor at Voluntary Counseling and Testing
Center (VCTC) gave him complete knowledge about HIV/AIDS
and referred him to the District Level Network (DLN). The DLN
members counseled him on various issues like stigma, discrimination,
positive prevention and disclosure. Karim was not ready to disclose
his HIV status to his wife.
With the support of DLN he developed the courage to reveal his
status to his family. After his status was reveled he was disowned by
his family but his wife stood by him. His wife and the children
were tested and were found negative. DLN team counseled Karim
and his wife on safe sex methods for preventing the infection. With
the support of DLN, he got a job in HIV/TB co-infection project
as an outreach worker. Karim decided to work hard for his family.
Ruksana also helped him by stitching dresses and adding to the
family income. Their children are now studying in a good school.
Ruksana gets her HIV test done after every six months. She is non-
reactive for HIV in the recent test done in December 2008. DLN
has played a significant role in the life of Karim. With the support
of DLN, Karim has developed the confidence of living a healthy
and positive life.
Indian Network for People Living with
HIV/AIDS
Chennai
Ph: 044- 22254670-74
Freedom Foundation
Bangalore
Ph: 080- 65966445
With Contributions from:
Partners
Confederation of Indian Industry
Gurgaon
Ph: 0124- 4014060-69
EngenderHealth Society
New Delhi
Ph: 011- 26851948/49/50
Hinduathan Latex Family Planning
Promotion Trust
Noida
Ph: 0120- 4673673
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India
New Delhi
011- 23344474
Population Foundation of India - Regional and State Offices
Population Foundation of India
B- 28, Qutab Institutional Area
Tara Crescent, New Delhi- 110016
Ph: 011- 42899770, Fax: 42899795
E-mail: popfound@sify.com
Website: www.popfound.org
PFI- Andhra Pradesh
Ph: 040- 65999770
E-mail: pfiapsco@yahoo.com
pfiapsco@gmail.com
PFI- Tamil Nadu
Ph: 044- 24329074
E- mail: pfichennai@gmail.com
PFI- Karnataka
Ph: 080-41285706
E-mail: pfibangalore@gmail.com
PFI- Manipur
Ph: 0385-2445072
E-mail: pfimanipur@rediffmail.com
PFI- Maharashtra
Ph: 022- 65029710
E-mail: mahapfi@gmail.com
PFI- Nagaland
Ph: 03862- 234009
E-mail: popfound_nagaland2yahoo.co.in
PFI- Rajasthan
Ph: 0141- 2210680
E-mail: pfirajasthan@gmail.com
PFI- Madhya Pradesh
Ph: 0755- 2550647
E-mail: pfi.madhyapradesh@gmail.com
PFI- Uttar Pradesh
Ph: 0522- 2353838
E- mail: pfiuttarpradesh@ gmail.com