AIDS

UNAIDS Commends Karnataka on AIDS Response Progress

Asia Pacific region's first learning site in Bangalore launched

UNAIDS, in partnership with Ashodaya Samiti, an organisation working towards the welfare and concerns of female sex workers in Karnataka, established 'UNAIDS-ADB —Ashodaya Regional Learning Site' on HIV and sex work. This centre will be Asia Pacific region's first ever learning site on HIV and sex work. The site intends to improve and develop community led approaches for the HIV programme of the sex workers' population. The centre was inaugurated during the first official visit of the Executive Director, UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe to India.

Inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, BS Yedurappa, the new learning site would provide technical assistance to networks and organisations working with Most At Risk Population (MARPs) and facilitating collaborative work at the regional and country level.

Speaking on the occasion, Michel Sidibe, Executive Director, UNAIDS, said, "Despite evidence and experience of what works to prevent HIV transmission among MARPs, coverage for HIV prevention and treatment services in Asia is minimal. A major challenge in interventions for sex workers is the quality of the evidence that we use in deciding policy, strategy and resource allocations. The need of the hour was to introduce interventions for sex workers that go beyond project scaling, reaching diverse subgroups of sex workers and expansion to non urban areas."

He further added, "The new centre would not just be an effective intervention based on good evidence of what is needed on ground but will also work towards reducing stigma and discrimination against most at risk groups to enable an environment supportive of HIV and sex work interventions."

With this learning site, UNAIDS aims to combat the rise in number of deaths due to AIDS in Karnataka, a state where an average HIV prevalence among female sex workers is just over five per cent. As part of his first official visit to, Sidibé also participated in a special ceremony organised by Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) to interact with members from Karnataka network of people living with HIV and civil society organisations working on HIV at the state level. During the day, he will also be visiting an Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) centre and an Integrated Counseling and Treatment Centre (ICTC) interacting with the Government functionaries and clients accessing ART and PPTCT services. Moreover, he is going to interact with community members from female sex workers, peer educators, outreach workers and other project staff to encourage community mobilisation aspect of HIV response in the state. His visit to the community and HIV service facilities in Bangaluru is being facilitated by the KSAPS.

As a part of his programme in India, Sidibé is meeting with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh; Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Oscar Fernandes, Convenor of Parliamentarians; P Chidambaram, Union Home Minister; and Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of State, Health and Family Welfare; to discuss India's progress in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment.

EH News Bureau