HIV/AIDS in India

Jay

India is home to the world’s second-largest HIV/AIDS epidemic. The epidemic has begun moving beyond high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers and into the general population.

I plan to work with NGOs active in HIV/AIDS prevention and cure. Would appreciate any help in identifying resoures - literature, resource persons, etc. And get in touch with others who have work experience

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Jay

terra1

Jay,
Below are some links that might be helpful. There is also a GBLT India list serve @ yahoo, if that would be appropriate, might be a good place to check out. From what I have read and on the list serve there are many opprotunites or ways to help. I was looking into volunteering at the clinic that assisted Hijira, Trans and female prostitues who where HIV+..


http://www.humsafar.org/

http://www.sangamaonline.org/mainpage.htm

http://www.idealist.org/

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Auntyji

Jay, have you tried Nalamdana and also South India Aids Action Programme-both have offices in Madras.

www.nalamdana.org and also http://www.aidsmap.com/en/docs/C10B8...86665D3D94.asp

The last website has stuff on the South India Aids Action Programme (SIAAP), but it doesn't seem to have been updated recently. I couldn't find a website for SIAAP.

I know the person who started Nalamdana, I think they do great work. They are very actively involved in spreading awareness and education about AIDS using street plays and songs (but this is all in Tamil). I don't know what they're looking for in terms of volunteering, expertise etc, but maybe their website will help you.

Good luck.

byronic

The freedom foundation is one of the very important HIV/AIDS institutions in India.
http://www.thefreedomfoundation.org/
I hear they just got a multi-multi million dollar grant from the govt and are buying land and building hospitals for care and education as we speak.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/byronic501/

Mandsaur

Another resource is the National AIDS Control Organization, which has the Indian government's take on facts & figures, various lists of clinics and treatment facilities, FAQs, and information on support groups.

http://www.nacoonline.org/

jens

Literature? Do you mean public health, virology, policy, economics, politics? I've done a lot of research in these areas and the literature is vast and accessible - what are you looking for? Have you searched the Internet? Sources like UNAIDS, WHO etc. have TONS of info - have you checked these out?

Do you work with AIDS patients now? I know US and UK have local agencies that would introduce you to some of the issues and trends depending on what work the agency does. Again there are diverse choices. You could start in your local town and work from there...

Good Luck.

Jay

Thanks a tonne! That's quite a lead!! In my previous assignments, I have worked with South African NGOs.

India has some challenges that African countries did not encounter! My readings suggest that Public Policy and Government is still in "Avoidance" mode. Then there is the taboo of discussing the undiscussable about Sexually transmitted diseases in open fora. My concerns are: epidemiological studies of spread of HIV/AIDS - not much scientific studies are available in the Indian sub-continents. Economic losses due to HIV/AIDS; socio-psychological impacts on the HIV+ persons from different social strata. However, more important is what could be done to promote a partnership among public, private and civil societies to contain and cure the epidemic.

I intend to focus on Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.