With an aim to create awareness among the residents on the deadly HIV/AIDS, a one-day workshop was organised by India HIV/AIDS Alliance in Dehradun on Tuesday. Addressing the gathering as a chief guest, Director General Health & Family Welfare Dr GS Joshi said that his department had been rigorously working for curtailing HIV/AIDS cases across the State.
He further said that department had been working to strengthen the HIV Prevention programme to create an enabling environment for this marginalised group. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Meenakshi Uniyal, Additional Project Director, Uttarakhand AIDS Control Society (USACS) said that department had been working on six essential components which were outreached with BCC, STI management, commodities, referral and linkages, community mobilisation and enabling environment.
“The India HIV/AIDS Alliance - Hridaya Project complements this existing package with services like family counselling and education, legal rights education, linkages and education on social protection schemes and services, support for De-addiction, Education and linkages for Hepatitis C, drug overdose, etc.
Addressing the gathering, laurent De lanois, European Commission Representative said that the provision of comprehensive services depends on the involvement and cooperation of all concerned departments and offices. IDUs are a Core High Risk Group and must be reached with HIV prevention services. IDUs are marginalised and afraid to come forward for services for a number of reasons resulting in increased vulnerability among them whereas James Robertson, Executive Director, India HIV/AIDS Alliance told that the India HIV/AIDS Alliance - Hridaya Project implements the Hridaya programme in collaboration with organisations and networks working to expand access to harm reduction interventions in India with support from the Government of Netherlands.
Hridaya expands harm reduction services for people who inject drugs (PWID), their partners and children by protecting and promoting the rights of these groups and fostering an enabling environment. It works closely with SACS/TSU and provides a complimentary package of services to the already existing package of DAC services. It was told that Community Action on Harm Reduction (CAHR) also known as Hridaya project, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Netherlands is implemented by the India HIV/AIDS Alliance. The Hridaya project aims to reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) by strengthening of Department for AIDS Control (DAC) adopted harm reduction strategy for PWID and their spouses, increasing access to services of IDUs in underserved areas and supporting development of more comprehensive services in areas with existing interventions.