In Partnership with London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Funding Support from Avahan India AIDS Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Background
- Impact assessment of HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Tamil Nadu was conducted in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
- The assessment expanded interdisciplinary expertise and strengthened capacity in collating and synthesizing evidence-based knowledge
- A compendium was published chronicling state wide initiatives for HIV prevention and documenting contextual factors which facilitated program implementation
- The compendium offers a comprehensive overview of the HIV epidemic since it was first detected among female sex workers in 1986 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The assessment traces the evolution of the national and state response in preventing and controlling the spread of HIV.
Key Findings
Five enabling contextual factors contributed to the successful response to HIV/AIDS in Tamil Nadu:
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Strong political will and administrative commitment from the Government of Tamil Nadu
1. Setting up and registering a State AIDS Control Society (SACS) in 1994
2. Introducing and scaling up Targeted Intervention (TI) program for high risk groups in partnership with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
3. Establishing a Transgender Welfare Board in 2008 headed by the Minister for Social Welfare
4. Pioneering Behavioural Surveillance Survey (BSS) to track the HIV epidemic and understand behavioural changes among high risk groups, bridge population and general population
5. Removing barriers to entering educational institutions and work places for Transgender persons
- Intensive multi-media behaviour change communication campaigns
- Identification of core high risk HIV transmitter groups
- Structured Targeted Intervention program focusing on high risk groups
- Strong treatment, care and support program
