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Location |
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 The Project area is located at
three key places Sunakun, Kokpara and Baharagora, identified
as the hub of unsafe sex practices, on the Mumbai-Calcutta
National Highway (NH33). The Project area extends in and around
Baharagora, a small town of East Singhbhum District in Jharkhand
and also covering the adjoining districts of Mayurbhanj and West
Midnapore in the state of Orissa and West Bengal respectively.
Baharagora lies at the intersection of NH—33 & 6, a tri-junction
of Jharkhand, West Bengal & Orissa. The operational area covers
163 cross border highway villages. |
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Background |
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An average of 4000 trucks pass
daily through this area. A large number of them are made to stop
at Jamsola in Orissa and Chichra in West Bengal. This is due to
lack of proper documents. Many trucks also halt at roadside
dhabas for rest and food. This provides ground to the thriving
sex-business.
This cross-border area is located far away from the State and
District Headquarters. Poor communication and hilly
terrain add to the problems. Government officials pay little
attention to this area. There is ever increasing demand of
labourers from the nearby industrial pockets. So large scale
migration of unskilled labourers takes place. Other reasons for
migration are poverty and failure of single cropping patterns in
this area. Language is another barrier. The peculiarity of this
region creates difficulty for the government to provide adequate
health services at one point. Being a cross border area, numbers
of highways converge. It becomes a natural place for mobile
populations to be at risk of HIV. |
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Problems in Focus |
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Number of HIV
infections has sharply increased in India in last one decade.
A.I.D initiated micro studies in tribal areas of east and west
Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. It was related to reproductive
health, family planning practices and status of STD/HIV/AIDS.
The study shows a bleak picture in relation to awareness level.
It was found that sexually Transmitted disease (STD) is making
devastating impact on the poor population in the inter state
cross border area of these three states.
Warning bell in Jharkhand and adjoining states
From the micro study
done in the project area, it was found that:
About two third of truckers, four fifth of Sex Workers and
around one fifth of roadside village youths and couples suffer
from different forms of STD.
These victims confirmed that they used large part of their
savings in treating the problems of STD.
Village study showed high degree of extra-marital sexual
relationship in view of inflow and outflow of outsiders.
High prevalence of STDs cases among the brick kiln migrants and
industrial workers were found. They were mostly females.
At present, there is very little government or local services
available in the area. The sexual health problem of migrant
transport workers in the inter-state border areas remains
neglected. One of the serious constraints is that the population
is highly mobile. Hence, it is difficult to provide services to
them at one point. Lingual barriers also create hurdle in
providing health services. |
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Why AID Intervened |
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A.I.D has been working in the
remote areas of Jharkhand for the past 16 years. It has been
actively involved in several projects. They include health,
watershed management, child labour and education to name a few.
Health for all is one of the four missions of A.I.D.
A.I.D. had a rich experience in STD/HIV/AIDS prevention in Tamil
Nadu. It believed that sexually transmitted diseases [STD] are
directly contributing to poverty. Such diseases are
pushing family into the realms of poverty, slavery and
indebtness. So A.I.D made a goal to prevent, control and
generate awareness in the society on STD and its infections of
HIV/AIDS.
It initiated a study meant to promote safe sex practices among
truck drivers, sex workers and their contact sources. The
location was along the Mumbai-Calcutta National Highway (NH33).
Three key places Sunakun, Kokpara and Baharagora were identified
as the hub of unsafe sex practices. The alarming cases were
reported from this region adjoining the bordering states of
Jharkhand, Orissa and west Bengal.
For state
wise details of HIV prevalence cases see
http://www.nacoonline.org/facts_statewise.htm |
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Strategy followed |
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A.I.D. targeted
the most neglected and vulnerable inter state cross border areas
of these three states. It adopted a multi pronged targeted
approach. The target was:
truckers,
sex workers,
migrant
workers,
educational institutes and the
community itself.
Government
of India effort to check the spread of AIDS/HIV
People living with HIV and
AIDS continue to be burdened by poor care and inadequate
services. Government has not done much to make the situation
better. The health care sector has not played a positive role in
context to HIV/AIDS. Negative attitudes from health care staff
have generated anxiety and fear among many people living with
HIV and AIDS. As a result, many keep their status secret,
fearing still worse treatment from others.
A
National AIDS Control Programme was launched in 1987. The
program activities cover observation, screening blood and health
education. In 1992 the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)
was established. See
http://www.nacoonline.org/
NACO carries
out India's National AIDS Programme. It includes the formulation
of policy, prevention and control programmes. The Government
launched a Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS prevention under the
National AIDS Control Project in 1992. State AIDS bodies have
been set up in 28 states and 7 union territories. See details in
www.avert.org
Prevention Efforts by A.I.D.
A.I.D. sponsored prevention efforts have included concerts,
radio drama, radio programme and organizing a voluntary blood
donation day. School AIDS education programme include training
teachers and students as peer educators. Role-playing, debates
and discussions are organized. The programme has worked towards
raising awareness levels. It has helped young people to resist
peer pressure and develop a safe and responsible life-style.
Information booths have been set up in the project area. It
provides information about STD/HIV/AIDS. It displays IEC
material and distribute to people. It contains leaflets, posters
and flipcharts. The booths provide counseling services for the
target groups. A.I.D. doctor visit the booth regularly. He
provides free medical referral services.
Medical checks up camps are also organized periodically. Ready
supply of condoms is available in all the booths of A.I.D.
Mobile van of A.I.D. is used as a
campaign vehicle. It is fitted with audio video display system.
It also has dispensary for treatment of general ailments. The
van is used at melas and local bazaar and dhabhas.
Case Study:
A.I.D. Puts Check To AIDS
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AIDS |
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A
serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system. It
is transmitted through blood products especially by
sexual contact or infected needles. |
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The first case of HIV infection in India
was diagnosed among commercial sex workers in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu in 1986. |
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HIV |
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HIV is a virus that causes AIDS
(acquired immune deficiency syndrome). It is called
human immunodeficiency virus. When in the body it
spreads quickly and infects other healthy cells. |
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The
majority of the reported AIDS cases have occurred in the
sexually active and economically productive 15 to 44 age
group. |
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STD |
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STD stands for Sexually Transmitted
Disease. It is also called Sexually Transmitted
Infection (STI) or by their old name Venereal Diseases
(VD). It is transmitted through body contact during
sex. It includes vagina, anal and oral sex. They are
caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites. Some STDs
(such as Herpes and HPV) can be caught by touching the
infected areas of someone's body and then touching
your own genitals (private parts). There are quite a
lot of different STDs. |
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Mumbai has the country's largest brothel
based sex industry, with over 15,000 sex workers. It is
estimated that in this region, 70% of the sex workers in
Mumbai are HIV-positive |
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Gonorrhoea |
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It is a bacterial infection. It is
sexually transmitted. It can infect the rectum, anus
and throat. Symptoms of infection may show up at
anytime between 1 and 14 days after exposure. It is
possible to be infected with gonorrhoea and have no
symptoms.
Men are far more likely to notice
symptoms than women. It is actually more common among
teens than among older men and women |
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HIV/AIDS no longer affects only high-risk
groups or urban population. It is gradually spreading into
rural areas and the general population. The epidemic
continues to shift towards women and young people. |
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India is a major producer of cheap HIV/AIDS
drugs that are being sold to many countries all over the
world. Despite that, drugs are affordable to a tiny
fraction of people in need of treatment in India. |
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