HIV is the world’s leading infectious killer. According to World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 35 million people have died since the first cases were reported in 1981 and 39.9 million were living with HIV at the end of 2017.
India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world with 2.1 million people living with the disease. The main factors that contribute to India’s large HIV infected population are extensive labour migration, low literacy levels, gender disparity, intravenous drug usage and sex work. The focus areas of HPPI’s intervention are therefore female sex workers and migrant workers due to their insufficient awareness of HIV/AIDS, low risk perception and lack of economic and social security.
HPPI is running two community based HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes workingwith both government and private agencies to bring about maximum impact.
Hope Centres: The Hope Centres have adopted the Targeted Intervention approach of the National AIDS Control Programme of India and aims to curb HIV transmission among high-risk groups like female sex workers and migrant workers through behaviour change communication (BCC), condom promotion, management of sexually transmitted infections and creating an enabling environment. Currently, two Hope projects are operational in Delhi and Unnao, reaching out to more than 1,250.
Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE): Started in 2006, TCE is a community mobilisation programme focused on preventing HIV transmission and empowering people to liberate them from this epidemic. Under this strategy, the field workers of HPPI visit every household of the operational area; help the household members to assess their risk to HIV transmission along with motivating and mobilising them to go for HIV testing. Currently, the TCE strategy is being applied in two projects run by HPPI in the states of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh, the principles of TCE are being applied in the Link Worker Programme.
These programmes also provide information and awareness on STI prevention and diagnoses, linkages with government schemes, testing and counselling services and referrals for treatment.
