HIV/ AIDS PREVENTION, CONTROL, CARE AND SUPPORT
HIV/ AIDS activities form an important component of development within COODU’s development framework. COODU has offered a wide range of services on the HIV/ AIDS continuum beginning with prevention efforts, moving over to referrals for treatment and diagnosis, and currently provides care and support services through the TANSACS-supported COODU Community Care Centre for You (C4U). In Coimbatore district alone, COODU has undertaken a wide range of intervention efforts among different target groups that include students, teachers, government departments, and the general public. It has also conducted awareness campaigns and assisted in the implementation of BSS among high-risk behaviour groups such as truckers, commercial sex workers, IDUs, MSM, male and female industrial workers, slum populations, and others.
COODU has now embarked on providing Care and Support services through its 10-bedded facility for People Living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHAs) covering a wide spectrum of activities including basic services – food and nutrition, shelter; education services – treatment literacy and treatment adherence; psychosocial services – counselling and referrals; medical services – diagnosis and treatment for Opportunistic Infections and drugs/medicines and referrals for Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART); recreational services – resource-cum-documentation centre for PLHA with facilities such as television, DVD, audio players, and indoor games; bereavement services – assisting in the funeral of PLHA and psychological support to PLHA and their families.
The project focuses on reducing stigma and discrimination and enabling PLHA to lead better quality lives through proper care and support. Focus is on Yoga, medication, and psychological counselling for improving life span and reducing mental agony faced by PLHA. Among the project personnel appointed in COODU Community Care Centre, most of the staff are People Living with HIV/ AIDS (PLHA) thus adhering to the principles of Greater Involvement of People with AIDS (GIPA). This indicates that PLHA are being empowered by COODU and integrated into planning and making decisions that have a direct influence on PLHA.
COODU intends to ensure the rights of the PLHAs who are more vulnerable in rural settings. Due to self-stigma and being discriminated by their husbands, relatives, neighbours, and the community, many tried to commit suicide. Many PLHAs survive for the welfare and prosperous future of their children. The proposed project intends to establish and strengthen support groups for the PLHAs through various inputs and exposures, not only to develop positive thinking, self-acceptance but also to develop as a force to advocate their rights, protection, and participation with the community, schools, healthcare settings, and stakeholders on stigma and discrimination, myth, and misconception of HIV/ AIDS, and to ensure community-based care and support to the PLHAS.
Trainings to PLHAs
Medical Support to PLHAs As part of the care and support programs, medical assistance and support to the PLHAs are provided to cure and prevent Opportunistic Infections (OI) and access to ART from Government Hospitals.
Awareness Meetings with PLHAs
Community Health Programme
COODU has outreached community health and rural sanitation. In order to promote community health and Reproductive and Child Health, Total sanitation programmes in rural areas of Coimbatore district, through the women Self Help Groups of COODU, as community-based Peer Pressure Groups, the following inputs need to be given to the women SHGs and other horizontal sections of the community.
Prevention of HIV/AIDS Among Tribals in Coimbatore and the Nilgiris Districts
COODU carried out an intensive campaign for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among tribals in 28 hamlets in Coimbatore district and 13 hamlets in the Nilgiris district under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). Under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), COODU undertook IEC activities with messages, materials, activities, and events taking into account the audience profile, barriers to communication, and positioning in different channels for maximum impact, which also led to behaviour change.
Goals With the goal of creating an enabling environment that encourages HIV-related prevention, care, and support services and also to reduce stigma and discrimination at all levels.
Methodologies
Human Resources
Selected Feedback from Tribal Audience
Very simple and lucid way of awareness creation.
Rehabilitation Of Women And Girls Affected By Trafficking, HIV/Aids In Coimbatore District Under UNDP-TAHA
Under the UNDP- TAHA project, COODU has undertaken Trafficking And HIV/AIDS (TAHA) project
Mapping Of High Risk Areas
It is proposed to identify the high risk areas in the district where TAHA is more prevalent on considering the following high risk factors
Selection And Orientation Of Peer Educators
On identifying the suitable women among WIPs who have the ability, knowledge and skill social consciousness are developed as Peer Educators through meetings and training programmes. Peer education is the one of the important aspect for the successful implementation of the programme. Peer education is important to deliver message of culturally sensitive issues by an individual WIP from the community and influence the target community as the health issues, much as to adopt safe sexual practices, in have Condom negotiation skill and take appropriate treatment of STD. To strengthen Peer educational activity regular weekly and fortnight meetings of peer educators have to be organised and discussions will be made on the issues and problems and progress of the FSWs on STD / HIV / AIDS prevention. Efforts will be taken to strengthen the peer educators groups organised to ensure the sustainability of the project through the formation of Self-organisation, for welfare of their family and children, and availing benefits from the Government.
Community Sensitization Programmes Through Street Theatre
The first step is to create awareness about a particular issue among the participants. Once the participant has relaxed, more information about HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination etc are given out. Street theatre performance to the rural populations level of comprehension and needs because developed the script based on the existing condition of the community / village.
After the performance, the street theatre groups mix with the audience for discussion and feedback. Before and after the show, the participants receive questionnaires. The information from the questionnaires helps to assess the impact of the interaction. The question and clarification elicited from the audience after the interaction and at the temporary information booths are the first indicators of changing attitudes and behaviors.
After establishing rapport with Primary Health Centre, Government Hospitals and Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centers, education programmes will be carried out on a symptomatic and undetected STD among ignorant women through the counsellors. The importance of early diagnosis and correct and full counselling treatment of STD is the preventive health measure in preventing HIV infection.
Women SHG Sensitization Activity
It is planned to develop765 Women Self Help Groups organized by COODU as the grassroots functionaries will play to role of HIV/AIDS prevention activities at the hamlet/panchayats/block level . With these points of view, prevention the strategy development is critical unless involvement of partners should be ensured. This can be achieved, as COODU proposes, to involve and develop ----- Women Self Help Groups organised by COODU as community based outreach groups to undertake the preventive measures such as condom promotion, behavioural communication change (BCC) as the Peer pressure on the Community / Village they belong to.
School Going Girls Sensitization
The school children are the future generation who should be sensitized on sex education , HIV/AIDS , Trafficking, child rights and participation etc., COODU has organized the following sensitization programmes for the school going children on their vulnerability and exploitation:
Adolescent Girl Sensitization
The adolescents in the target region are developed as the education groups by involving them in adolescent girls groups at community level. During the weekly, (at the initial stage) and forthright meetings (at later stage), peer educators prepare the adolescents to learn the knowledge of Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) such as: