Indian partners recognise importance of mainstreaming HIV
29 February 2008
Alliance India and linking organisation Palmyrah Workers Development Society (PWDS), based in Tamil Nadu, are working to develop a common understanding among partners of mainstreaming HIV and its importance as a strategy in tackling HIV and AIDS. The overarching principle of mainstreaming is to encourage all development sectors to look at how HIV affects their work and make sure they are responding and supporting wider HIV responses through what they are doing.
At a consultation meeting organised by Alliance India and PWDS on 7 December 2007 to explore the issue, participants were encouraged to consider mainstreaming HIV as not merely a medical issue but a broader development issue that also required non-health sectors to be involved in taking action.
Padma Buggineni, Senior Policy Officer at Alliance India began the consultation discussions saying that mainstreaming is essential for developing and implementing multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS.
The consultation highlighted the importance of mainstreaming at below district-level and identified the need to develop a model for Tamil Nadu.
The Government of India’s National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has a policy on mainstreaming HIV but understanding of it is limited so participants had the opportunity to learn and discuss more about it.
Participants explored mainstreaming HIV from the different perspectives of NGOs working on HIV programmes and NGOs who are not. A number of ideas emerged from group discussions that included adapting and implementing workplace policies, counselling facilities for employees, implementing Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV (GIPA) principles and providing linkages with government welfare programmes.
A mapping exercise explored avenues for mainstreaming HIV education and care at district level, with the view that this could assist the aim to pilot mainstreaming in one district.
Participants included representatives from PWDS, Madurai District AIDS Control Society, Positive People Networks including women’s networks, faith- based organisations, NGOs, clinicians from Rajaji Medical College Hospital in Madurai, senior project coordinators, home care guides and Catholic Relief Services.
