Project Description Samastha
Duration: October 2006 - September 2011
Partners:
EngenderHealth
Population Services International (PSI)
Karnataka Network of Positive People
St John's Medical College
Swasti
Snehadaan
Myrada
Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement
Lepra Society
Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT)
Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS)
Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS)
Geographic Focus: All 28 districts in Karnataka and selected coastal districts (Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari) of Andhra Pradesh
Project Profile: The Samastha project is one of three components under the umbrella of the $49-million Enhance Project. Samastha supports a comprehensive program of networked services for prevention, care and treatment through implementation, linkages across services and strengthening of public and private sector involvement. The activities are implemented through a consortium of NGO partners including: Karnataka Network of Positive People, St John's Medical College, Swasti, Snehadaan, Myrada, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Lepra Society. The consortium is led by the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust with technical partnerships with EngenderHealth and PSI. The project works in close collaboration with the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) and the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS). The project's activities primarily focus on integrating prevention among high risk groups and vulnerable populations with community-based care, support and treatment including voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services for adults and children. Capacity building and systems strengthening are additional components.
Key Ongoing Activities:
- Implementation of targeted interventions with female sex workers and their clients in eight districts of Karnataka covering rural areas, using link workers and peer outreach, condom promotion and linkage to STI, HIV and TB-related services
- Implementation of interventions with other vulnerable populations (men and women at risk of HIV and pregnant women) in 12 rural districts of Karnataka through behavior change programs that emphasize partner reduction, condom use, risk perception, and access to HIV counseling, testing and prevention and care services
- A facility and community-based care, treatment and support program in 12 districts and three cities in Karnataka and 5 selected coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, that aims to improve access to and use of HIV-related services, improve the quality of HIV care at Community Care Centers, increase coverage of programs that support orphaned and vulnerable children, and enhance the quality of clinical care for HIV, ART and TB management in the public and private sectors. The program promotes a network model that establishes linkages across the prevention to care continuum.
- Capacity building and institutional and systems strengthening for local organizations supported by government, NGO and community-based organizations. Resources created through the project's activities include establishment of Regional Training Centers (RTCs), organization of regional supportive supervision and mentorship teams of doctors, nurses and counselors, setting up of learning sites for Urban Targeted Interventions, comprehensive district programming and community based care and support
Project Achievements and Innovations:
- Rollout of comprehensive prevention, care and treatment projects across three cities and 12 districts of Karnataka
- Rural mapping of key populations across Karnataka and identification of more than 1,600 priority villages for intervention and start-up activities
- Comprehensive care and treatment projects across 12 districts in Karnataka and five coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh providing palliative care to over 12,000 individuals and 3,000 children identified as orphaned and vulnerable
- Design and implementation of a computerized individualized management information system and a system for monitoring and evaluation of outputs and outcomes
- Technical assistance to the Technical Support Unit in Karnataka for strengthening the Karnataka State AIDS Control Society
For Further Information: http://www.khpt.org/Samastha.html