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Kerala State AIDS Control Society Red Cross Road, Thiruvananthapuram -695037 Phone : 0471-304882, 305183, FOREWORD Sexually transmitted infections (STI) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection have emerged as an important public health problem in India in recent times. STI/HIV is not only a public health problem but also an important developmental challenge. A number of activities are being implemented as a part of the National AIDS Control Programme under the leadership of National AIDS Control Organization in the state of Kerala for the prevention of HIV/STI. Activities include awareness generation, behaviour change communication, condom promotion, management of STIs, training of health care providers etc. Activities are also directed towards monitoring and evaluation (including impact assessment) of the programme. Impact Assessment Project implemented in the state under the overall guidance of Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) with technical assistance of Family Health International (FHI) and funding from Department for International Development (DFID) is an important step for tracking the trend of sexual behaviour (behavioural surveillance surveys, BSS), sexually transmitted infections (STI prevalence studies) and STI case management practices of health care providers [health care providers survey (HCPS)]. STI prevalence studies among female sex workers (FSWs) were implemented by different NGOs (1. SOMA in Thiruvanthapuram, 2. CSRD in Calicut and 3. ACS in Trissur); BSS was implemented by TNS MODE in the whole state; and HCPS was implemented by C-GRAF, Department of Futures Studies, University of Kerala in the whole state. All these surveys provided useful insight into the prevalence of STIs among FSWs, the behaviour of some of the important groups in the state (like FSWs and clients, plantation workers etc. and the way STI patients are managed in the health care settings. For instance, BSS showed that the level of risk behaviour of some of the groups were substantially different from what was estimated before the survey. In the case of Auto rickshaw drivers, while the estimated measurement was 25%, the actual measurement was 13.8%, for Plantation workers it was 20% and 4.8% respectively. It will be important to repeat these studies at periodic interval to see the change in these parameters over time. We thank DFID for providing the financial support to this project. It is expected that these reports will also be useful for agencies and individuals involved in the fight against STI/HIV/AIDS elsewhere in the country. Thiruvananthapuram Dr. D. Thangam Additional Project Director Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) Red Cross Road, Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala. Contents Executive summary |
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