Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - December 18, 2006
Amit Kumar, in New Delhi
Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) has been implementing a wide range of HIV prevention programmes in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh to tackle the epidemic. The IRCS HIV strategy has been designed to combat the HIV/AIDS situation in a comprehensive manner by concentrating on strategic interventions which covers youth peer education (YPE), care and support, stigma & discrimination and safe blood promotion.
Over the years, the IRCS has been expanding its youth peer education programme for school and college students, so far, state level training of trainers (TOT) for state and district programme officials have been conducted in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
IRCS YEP Programme targets the youth in schools and colleges and aims to reduce the prevalence of new infections among them through peer education and life skill development. In essence, the main objective is to encourage youth to consistently practice safe sexual behaviour and create positive peer pressure to help them openly discuss about HIV and sexual health issues.
A three-day state level training of trainers (TOT) workshop for Youth Peer Education programme for HIV/AIDS, was organized by IRCS, Tamil Nadu state branch in October. Twenty-one participants from 3 district and Tamil Nadu state branch participated in the workshop.
Dr. K.Manivasan, Additional Commissioner (Health) Chennai Corporation, speaking at inauguration emphasized the importance of disseminating consistent messages on HIV/AIDS awareness. With so many agencies working in the field of HIV prevention, he advocated for collaboration and division of work among concerned agencies in order to avoid duplication of efforts.
Acknowledging Red Cross initiatives in the state he urged the Red Cross to work in close coordination with Tamil Nadu State AIDS Society.
He also highlighted a serious concern and called upon all the concerned agencies to find ways to reach out to out-of-school children which is highly vulnerable group in the state.
The sessions in the workshop covered various aspects of HIV/AIDS which included basics about HIV and modes of transmission, importance of communication skills in youth peer education programme, role of peer educators and counselors, financial management system, importance of programme logical framework in programme management and reporting formats and overview on IRCS HIV/AIDS programme.
In order to highlight the issue of stigma and discrimination, a special interactive opportunity with people living with HIV (PLHIV) from Chennai Network of Positive People was organized. Participants found this session quite informative as it provided them a unique opportunity to get insight into the life of PLHIV.
Sharing his experience on the YEP programme P. Vengadasami, State Coordinator, Tamil Nadu state branch said that youth are an important target group in HIV prevention programme in Tamil Nadu. He said that Tamil Nadu is already classified as one of six æhigh prevalence states' in India and a recent state government survey has also revealed that youth as particularly in the age group of 15-26 are most vulnerable to HIV.
R. Babu, District Coordinator, Salem revealed that in order to make the programme viable and sustainable, sensitization sessions for school headmasters, college principals, heads of institution and teachers are being regularly conducted. The idea is to involve concerned school and college authorities in YEP programme which is quite essential for the smooth running of the programme.
Nina Paulsen, Regional Coordinator, International Programme, South Asia said that the Swedish Government had committed funds for HIV/AIDS prevention strategy in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh by collaborating through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
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