IMPACT Activities in Bangladesh Build Capacity

Project Focuses Efforts on Harm Reduction, Behavior Change Communication

In collaboration with the South-South Centre, the Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project, managed by FHI, recently sponsored Bangladesh's first-ever Multisectoral Advocacy Meeting for Harm Reduction in Dhaka. The Sept. 2004 gathering, which included high-level officials from the ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Law, and Home Affairs, launched a groundbreaking national discussion about how best to develop a collaborative national strategy for harm reduction and HIV prevention interventions targeted to injection drug users (IDUs).

Dr. Khondaker Mosharraf Hossain, Bangladesh's health minister, told meeting participants that his ministry would take a lead role in coordinating harm reduction strategies with other concerned ministries. Inspector General of Police Shahudul Haque, spoke of the need to promote new approaches and procedures for the police forces, saying, "Police should deal with injection drug users in a sympathetic manner, not as criminals but as patients."

Dr. Robert Kelly, FHI's country director in Bangladesh, addressed common misconceptions about drug use and harm reduction. Jalaluddin Ahmed, director of the IMPACT-funded South-South Centre, gave a presentation on HIV prevalence among IDUs in South Asia and Bangladesh and on challenges to conducting IDU interventions.

As a follow-up, seven regional advocacy meetings in different parts of the country will promote political awareness of harm reduction approaches to reduce HIV transmission risk in Bangladesh.

IMPACT also recently conducted a five-day workshop in Dhaka on behavior change communication (BCC) and peer education for 55 staff members of 30 Bangladeshi NGOs participating in the HIV/AIDS Prevention Project (HAPP). The session, which took place from Oct. 3 to Oct. 7, focused on developing behavior change interventions for most-at-risk populations and on improving peer education programs.

"We have learned how to train our peer educators, how to communicate with them, which areas to focus on, and issues of respect," said one workshop participant.

HAPP is funded by a World Bank/Department of International Development (U.K.) loan and managed by UNICEF. The training was based on FHI/Bangladesh's newly expanded peer education curriculum.

Photo: During the workshop, staff from HAPP-affiliated NGOs participated in an interactive game designed to show how to set program goals and support peer educators. (Sumon Kalyan Saha/FHI) View a larger image.