Project Description AIDS Prevention and Control Project (APAC)
Duration: September 1992 - March 2012
Partners: Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society
Kerala State AIDS Control Society
Puducherry AIDS Control Society
33 NGO/CBO partners engaged in interventions with Most-At-Risk-Populations (MARPS)
19 private medical college/hospitals engaged in provision of care, support and treatment for People
Living with HIV/AIDS
Public-Private Partnerships with two leading corporate partners for STI/HIV/AIDS programs
The project also partners with leading private research and communication organization
Geographic Focus: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala
Project Profile: The AIDS Prevention and Control (APAC) Project was the first bilateral HIV/AIDS project between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of India. The $47.25 million project was signed in September 1992 with the goal to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS via sexual transmission and to increase access to care and support services to those infected and affected by HIV in the states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (total population of 67.83 million (2009 estimate). In March 2007, the APAC project was extended for five years with the objective to: support comprehensive prevention to care continuum services in selected high-prevalence districts; provide technical support to the State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala; and transition selected activities supported by APAC in Tamil Nadu to the State AIDS Control Societies.
Project interventions introduce and reinforce HIV-preventive behavior among high-risk groups and populations who are most at risk of infection (sex workers, men having sex with men, injecting drug users, truck drivers and migrants) and provide care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS. Prominent strategies of the project are: Behavior Change Communication, Prevention and Control of STIs, Condom Promotion, Care and Support, Capacity Building of NGO partners, Research and Evaluation. The project's efforts have supported the Tamil Nadu state in developing evidence-based interventions, addressing gaps in prevention and care interventions and have contributed to the stabilization of the epidemic in the state. Many strategies and activities supported by the project have been adopted nationally. These include: systems for NGO/CBO identification, capacity building and monitoring; condom social marketing approaches; training and communication materials; engaging community-preferred private health care providers for STI/HIV/AIDS care treatment. The APAC project was actively involved in developing the State HIV/AIDS Project Implementation Plans and the NACP-III framework and is the vice-chair for the national-level Targeted Interventions Committee. At the state level, APAC is responsible for Technical Support Units to build the capacity of the SACS in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala.
Key Ongoing Activities:
- Prevention programs among high-risk and vulnerable populations: APAC reaches over 20,000 female sex workers, 10,000 men having sex with men, 1,000 injecting drug users and 20,000 migrants through 33 NGOs/CBOs interventions.
- Care and treatment including home-based and institutional care: APAC has partnered with a network of 19 community preferred private clinics and hospitals to provide STI/HIV/AIDS treatment services. Over the years the project has provided institutional and home-based care to over 10,000 PLHAs in Tamil Nadu.
- Communication activities for behavior change, advocacy and policy change: APAC has developed several mass, mid and small media materials which have been adopted by other agencies. The project also builds the capacity of NGO staff and community members on Behavior Change Communication, Social Mobilization and Advocacy.
- Capacity building of NGOs, CBOs, Health Care Providers, Peer Educators and SACS: The project has built the capacity of several local institutions and empanelled subject experts as consultants to provide technical assistance to NGOs, CBOs, Health Care Providers, Peer Educators and SACS to deliver quality programs in accordance to national guidelines. The project also supports three demonstration districts which function as learning sites for NGOs and other agencies to understand MARP interventions and Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS initiatives with other departments / ministries. The project has also recently partnered with the Indira Gandhi National Open University for providing virtual learning and training courses to NGOs and health care providers.
- Condom social marketing and promoting treatment of STIs; and
- Targeted Evaluation including mapping of high-risk-population, evaluative and impact assessments.
Project Achievements and Innovations:
- Successful partnership with more than 30 NGOs/CBOs
- Completed 11 rounds of BSS and two rounds of STI community prevalence studies
- Innovative public-private partnerships including collaboration with the TATA group for a helpline for PLHAs. The project has also partnered with Ashok Leyland and Apollo Tyres for establishing counseling and STI Treatment clinics along the national and state highways.
- Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS programs with Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The project through the Technical Support Units has been able to mainstream HIV/AIDS with different ministries. The Ministry for Women and Child Development has approved the plan to provide nutritional support for all women and children infected by HIV/AIDS.
- Through technical assistance from the project, the first state-supported Trust for orphans and vulnerable children has been established. The Government of Tamil Nadu contributes $1.25 million annually for the trust activities. APAC's support includes developing the trust deed and operational guidelines, conducting needs assessment of orphans and vulnerable children, and providing technical support and monitoring of the trust supported activities.
- During the period from 1999 to 2007:
- Condom usage among truckers increased from 44% to 80%; among sex workers from 56% to 92%
- Truckers' contact with non-regular partners reduced from 48% to 34%
- STI treatment seeking behavior among truckers improved from 64% to 92%
- Condom sales tripled from 17 million to 54 million pieces
- Condom distribution outlets increased from 19,000 to 61,000
- Care, support and treatment provided to 5,600 PLHAs and 2,850 Orphan and Vulnerable Children
- Trends in HIV Prevalence in Tamil Nadu show continued decline (ANC Prevalence 1.13 in 2001 to 0.25 in 2008).
For Further Information: http://www.apacvhs.org/