Alliance India
International Secretariat (7/35 states)
The Alliance aims to contribute to national programmes by focusing on impact at a state and district level which further contributes to universal access targets for specific groups at high risk.
An estimated 2.4 million people are living with HIV in India. Nationally around 0.3% of adults are infected but there is wide geographical variation, with two thirds of infections reported in six of the country’s twenty-nine states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Karnataka). HIV prevalence is 4-5 times higher in these than in other Indian states.
Rates of infection among sex workers remain high, despite recent declines in areas that have been the focus of targeted prevention efforts, such as the southern states and some major cities. HIV remains uncontrolled among men who have sex with men, with infection rates of approximately 10%.
In the north eastern states, injecting drug use is the main risk factor for infection. New pockets of high HIV prevalence among injecting drug users are also emerging in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra.
There are no reliable estimates of the number of AIDS orphans in India. With UNICEF calculating that there are more than 25 million orphans in total, it is clear that the epidemic’s burden on families and children is substantial.
WHAT WE DO
A strong network
Supported by a national secretariat in Delhi, the Alliance’s presence in India comprises five linking organisations, one state partner and their networks of more than one hundred community-based organisations.
The linking organisations are
Social Awareness Service Organisation
(SASO) operates as a state partner in Manipur. The secretariat, known as the India HIV/AIDS Alliance (or Alliance India), provides financial and technical support to the other organisations, ensuring ongoing engagement with community beneficiaries. It is a Principal Recipient of money from Round 6 of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Alliance India also facilitates inter-country learning and knowledge management through services including its online resource centre, SETU. Two external organisations – Plan India and Catholic Relief Services – have established project-based partnerships with Alliance linking organisations.
Avahan
Avahan is a focused prevention initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
AAA and LEPRA implement Avahan in 14 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Its key objectives are to reduce the prevalence of STIs among key populations (sex workers, transgender people and men who have sex with men); empower and mobilise individuals, groups and communities; and support the creation of an enabling environment through individual and organisational capacity building.
So far more than 70,000 key population members have been reached. To guarantee the long-term future of the Avahan projects, AAA will hand over their management to the government in a phased process ending in 2012.
CHAHA
CHAHA is a home- and community-based care and support project financed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (Round 6). All Alliance linking organisations and SASO help to implement this programme in 40 districts of four states, working with 54 implementing partners.
CHAHA reaches out to families and children affected by HIV, including children living with HIV, orphans and vulnerable children. Its goal is to provide a package of care and support services to 64,000 children by 2011.
CHAHA is the only comprehensive care and support programme for children affected by HIV in India of this scale, and has been consistently achieving the Global Fund’s “A-grade” rating.
Working with female drug users
SASO implements a small-scale, innovative programme for female injecting drug users in Manipur, with unrestricted funding from the Alliance. It focuses on providing free basic healthcare by a female doctor, counselling and referrals to essential services.
The programme also runs a drop-in centre and a night shelter for female injecting drug users – the only ones of their kind in the state and also in India.
The programme has already reached 171 of the 700 estimated female injecting drug users in its two focus districts.
STARP AP
AAA runs START AP in Andhra Pradesh to help marginalised populations access and adhere to HIV treatment, which is provided by the government.
This unique programme demonstrates how treatment can be integrated with prevention, care and support. START AP has reached 358 people living with HIV of whom 213 have received their CD4 counts and 90 are receiving free antiretroviral treatment from the government. The programme receives unrestricted funding from the Alliance.
SRH-HIV Integration
This programme, funded by the Hewlett Foundation, facilitates integration of HIV services with services for sexual and reproductive health (SRH), with the intention to generate ample evidence to influence the policy environment for future programming on SRH and HIV integration.
The programme is working towards increasing knowledge about services at community level and hence generating an informed demand by using innovative communication approaches (suraksha haats). It also works towards establishing institutional linkages with health facilities and sensitisation and training of local health providers.
Regional Technical Support Hub
Alliance India hosts the Alliance Regional Technical Support Hub for Asia, which provides technical assistance to strengthen local responses to HIV and AIDS.