TOWARDS POSITIVE INITIATIVES

AND ACHIEVEMENTS
REPORT -2003-2009
Preface Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS
 P r e f a c e

June 2009
HIV confronts the world with many challenges. The humanitarian organizations have worked hard
to meet them, making up for a lack of action in the earlier years of the epidemic. But far more needs to be
done, in partnership with governments but also above all, with communities whose wisdom and resilience
offer so much to the HIV response. That is why the Red Cross Societies around the world have come together
in a Global Alliance on HIV with the resolve to do much more and much better in our collective Endeavour
against this epidemic in prevention, treatment, care and support, and in tackling stigma and discrimination.

This report highlights the efforts taken by the Indian Red Cross society Tamil Nadu Branch
to bring assistance to some of the most vulnerable people in the state infected and affected by HIV /
AIDS from 2003 – 2009 at a cost of over Rs one crore per annum with the with the support of the In-
ternational Federation of the Red Cross, Italian red cross and Tamil Nadu Aids control society.

The youth peer education has been very successful and provides a platform in spreading aware-
ness and educating the youth against HIV. The 3 s link programme Service, support and stigma is the
only project in the country which has been appreciated by both the national and international agencies.
The 8 mobile Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre (ICTC) & 2 Information, Education and Communica-
tion (IEC) vehicles allotted by The Tamil Nadu state AIDS control society, to IRCS District Branches has helped
in motivating people to be tested for HIV and thus get help to look after themselves and protect others.

A support centre for the children less than 6 years of age of the HIV/AIDS affected par-
ents for giving care, supplemental nutritious food, providing pre- school, non-formal play
way education, medical care and personal hygiene was established in 2004 in Dharmapuri.

The treatment centre in Krishnagiri for the various problems of HIV patients including the supply
of ART is also well received by the patients

Finally I thank the patron in chief, the secretary of the state branch, the district secretaries and
the Federation for making this attempt possible and successful.

Dr. Vimala Ramalingam

President
 PREVENTION- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Youth Peer Education Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Programme Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

PREVENTION-Youth Peer Education Programme

 PREVENTION-
Youth Peer Education Programme

The HIV/AIDS youth peer education programme is undertaking in-schools and

colleges peer-to-peer education activities to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS by
empowering the youth through the provision of accurate, continuous, scientific and
consistent information on HIV/AIDS and adolescent reproductive health.

As peers are influential and remain the primary or only source of information
about sex and sexuality, peer learning plays a very important role in getting information
across to the youth. The program therefore aims at helping youth increase their confi-
dence, knowledge and skills in relation to their sexual development, and to reduce the
risk of HIV/AIDS, other STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
The activities range from informal conversations to organized group sessions and can
take place in settings such as youth clubs, schools or playgrounds.

Youth Peer Education Programme was started in June 2004 in the highly preva-
lent districts of Tamilnadu-Salem, Namakkal, Erode & Dharmapuri. From April 2008
onwards it is shifted to Perambalur, Trichy, Villupuram Thanjavur and Tirunelveli districts.
The cost of the project is Rs.8 lakhs per district per year.

Empowering Youth
 PREVENTION- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Youth Peer Education Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Programme Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Youth Peer Program

 BENEFICIARIES-
Youth Peer Education Programme

Through youth Peer education Programme 4400 school and college peer edu-
cators and peer group members were trained about HIV/AIDS per district per year.

About 80 awareness programmes were conducted for various target groups like
public, women, self help groups, village people and youth in which about 6000 persons
were benefited per district per year.

The youth to youth peer education program showed that young people need skills
as well as information, to enable them to make informed decisions about their sexual activity,
or to negotiate safer sex. There is an indication also that the program is gaining the support of
parents and community leaders especially for the involvement of young girls who otherwise
have little means of getting information and receiving life skills. The training module, which
is highly participatory, involves both sexes in equal proportion, making the training lively.

Empowering Youth
 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Care and Support

 CARE AND SUPPORT-
3S link– Hospital project

The 3 s LINK Programme (Service Support and Stigma)of the Indian Red Cross
Society in partnership with the Govt. Hospital for chest diseases in Chennai in the
service of people living with HIV/AIDS has successfully completed 5 years and
has entered the 6th year. The project was inaugurated in 2004 by the then Secre-
tary General Dr. Vimala Ramalingam and Dr., Mannan Ganguly, Health Advisor, IFRC.

The project Provides need based services, referral services, linking Com-
munity Support Centers for continuous care of HIV/AIDS patients and counseling
to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) attending/ admitted in hospital and ad-
dress stigma through awareness generation. About 6000 inpatients are given nutri-
tional support and 400 hygiene kits are provided for the new inpatients every month.
 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Nutritional Counseling
 | General, Family and the Nutritional Counseling

The general, family and the by the programme counselors and the proj-
ect coordinator has been well received by the patients and their relatives. Counsel-
ing is done to create awareness about HIV/ AIDS transmission, prevention, safe sex,
use of condoms even if both the partners are positive and stigma & discrimination.

General, Family and the Nutritional Counseling

| Hygiene Counseling

The hygiene counseling on the importance of personnel hygiene and dis-

tribution of the hygiene kits has been very successful and the counselors have
been able to pull out patients from their depression and helpless suicidal attitude.

Hygine Counseling
 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Counseling Discussion
 | Nutritional supplement

Nutrition is an integral component of care and support and ART can create ad-
ditional nutritional needs and constraints. Hence nutritional support is given to patients
during their stay in the hospital supplying 1/3 rd of the daily requirements in the form of
Pongal, dates Peanut bars and curds. Every patient receives one cup of pongal, 50 Gms
of dates or 2 pieces of groundnut bar and 200ml of curds. This provides 550 kales, 15-16
gems of protein 125 moms of calcium and 8 mom of iron.

Protein supplement in the form of Sathumavu is distributed to the patients at the

end of the counseling and the method of preparing the powder at home was taught.
For the hospital authorities the nutritional supplement and the counseling to the ARV
patients has been a great support to the make the patient adhere to the treatment pro-
gramme

The staff while distributing the powder counsels the patients on the importance
of taking the powder regularly and teaches simple recipes using the powder, and the
preparation methods are put up on the notice board.
The Red Cross counselors have a cooking demonstration class at 10.30 am to impress on
the patients the different recipes which can be made with the powder.

Nutritional Supplement

Protein Supplement
 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital Project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Nutritional Counseling
 | Cost effective locally available food
The Red Cross counselors are also demonstrating to the patients about the use of
sprouted legumes, grams and the different recipes using them. The patients seem to be in-
terested in these of recipes and the variety of items that can be made. Importance is given to
locally available and cost effective ingredients.The Project cost is about Rs.16 lakhs per year

Beneficiaries:
- Provides Nutritional support to forever one lakh HIV/AIDS inpatients in the
hospital every year.
- Provides 4800 Hygiene kits to newly admitted HIV/AIDS patients in the hospi-
tal every year.
- Provides Nutrition education and counseling to about 12000 inpatients & their
attendants per year

Nutrient Supplement
 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

ICTC/IEC Van Inaguration

 | Community mobilization

Communities are the first to be mobilized in response to the threat of HIV, and
their initiatives are the foundations on which the other responses can been built.

As the Red Cross Society has scaled up their HIV/AIDS-response, collaboration

with local groups and institutions has increased. This includes work with voluntary
counseling and testing centers, as well as supporting outreach activities through social
mobilization and contributing to the organization of peer support groups for affected
communities.

The degree to which communities can be mobilized depends on both the

awareness of the local communities themselves and the level of both internal and exter-
nal leadership available to it.

Eight mobile Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre (ICTC) & 2 Information, Educa-
tion and Communication (IEC) vehicles allotted by The Tamil Nadu state AIDS control
society, to IRCS District Branches has helped in motivating people to be tested for HIV
and thus get help to look after themselves and protect others. In contrast, discrimina-
tion and exclusion fuels further spread of the pandemic and deprives society of the
productive contribution of people living with HIV.

Counseling in ICTC/IEC Van

 CARE AND SUPPORT- Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
3S link– Hospital project Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

ICTC/IEC Van - Work in Full Swing

 The mobile ICTC/IEC vans project was inaugurated on December 1st 2007, the World
AIDS Day.

The districts benefitted are

1. Salem
2. Dharmapuri
3. Krishnagiri
4. Dhindugal
5. Coimbatore
6. Nilgiris
7. Thiruvannamalai
8. Namakkal

The IEC mobile vans are running in the following districts

1. Chennai
2. Madurai.

The cost of the project is about Rs. 48 lakhs per year

Beneficiaries
- Through mobile ICTC Vans, about 500 persons were identified as HIV positive
and referred to the hospitals
- About 55000 people were counseled on HIV/AIDS
- About 5000 people were referred to Government Hospitals, STI clinics and ICTC
Centers.
STIGMA Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Creating Awareness
 STIGMA

| Stigma kills – Community Care Centers

Stigma is a major contributing factor to worsening the plight of most people

living with HIV, not just those groups most at risk. Stigma prevents people from being
tested for HIV, and thus increases the risk of transmission. Stigma leads to the rejection of
children orphaned by AIDS, and the casting out of women from their homes (even if their
husband infected them in the first place). Given our mandate to promote humanitar-
ian principles and values, the Red Cross has a particular role to play in lessening stigma.

A support centre for HIV/AIDS infected and affected families was piloted in
Namakkal, Tamilnadu, in 2003 followed by care center at Dharmapuri in 2004 for the
children less than 6 years of age of the HIV/AIDS affected parents for giving care, sup-
plemental nutritious food, providing pre- school, non-formal play way education,
medical care and personal hygiene. This centre also helps in the campaign aiming to
create an environment where HIV - and the factors that increase people’s vulnerabili-
ty - can be discussed openly. Such an environment will increase the willingness to ac-
cept treatment, support and care. It will help people to live full lives within their com-
munities and to feel empowered to contribute actively to the response to the virus.

The Community Care centre building at Dharmapuri was donat-

ed by the District administration with the facilities of electricity and wa-
ter. Philanthropists from the local community, branch members and vol-
unteers, with the continuous involvement of PLWHA, manage the centre.

The project cost is Rs. 4 lakhs per year.

STIGMA Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

Awareness Campaign
 Beneficiaries:

- About 20 children (below 6 years) of HIV infected and affected parents

are getting pre-school education, nutritional support and medical care per
year.

- HIV/AIDS awareness sessions conducted for about 500 HIV infected and
affected family members per year.

| Treatment– Community Care Centre at Krishnagiri:

Krishnagiri is one among the 10 highly prevalent HIV district in Tamil Nadu,
according to a latest study by the National Aids Control Organization (NACO).

The 12 bedded community care centre in Krishnagiri was inaugurated in 2008 with facili-
ties to treat
1. Sexually Transmitted diseases
2. Treatment for Opportunistic infections
3. Provision of Anti Retroviral drugs
4. HIV-TB treatment

WAD Rally
STIGMA Towards Positive Initiatives and Indian Red Cross
Achievements Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

Towards positive and

Achievements - HIV /AIDS

HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign

 The centre has been provided with one part-time doctor, three nurses, one coun-
selor, three outreach workers, one sanitary worker and one cook.

Most People Living with HIV in Krishnagiri avail free treatment at the IRCS care
centre which provides both inpatient and out patient services and short stay for PL-
HAs. HIV+ patients are treated for opportunistic infections as inpatients for about 15
days to one month. Services provided to PLHA during their stay include medical and
nursing care, nutrition and nutrition counseling, family counseling, yoga training and
psychological training. PLHA whose condition stabilizes are sent home to live with their
families and communities; others, in need of more medical care, are referred to medical
institutions.

The Project cost is Rs.20 lakhs per year.1165 treated as out patients and 282 treat-
ed as in patients till date , Supplementary Nutrition distributed to 472 PLHA patients

-1165 treated as
-282 PLHA treated as in patients
-Nutritional food for 472 PLHA patients

Awareness Campaign
Towards positive initiatives Towards positive and Indian Red Cross
and achievements Achievements - HIV /AIDS Tamil Nadu Branch
Report -2003-2009

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