Publications

For decades, donors, governments, and civil society have recognized the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in efforts to alleviate poverty and advance gender equality and women’s rights. More recently, in the battle against HIV/AIDS and given the unique challenges the pandemic presents for health and development--the global community has acknowledged the benefits of synergizing sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS interventions. However, the United States has been slow to incorporate lessons learned from the international experience when it comes to integrating HIV/AIDS, SRHR, and gender equality in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This article highlights the importance of SRHR and lessons learned from SRHR–HIV integration to inform U.S. domestic and global AIDS strategies and interventions.

This is the fourth round of the IBBS survey conducted among 593 Female Sex Workers (FSWs) - of whom 355 were establishment-based and 238 street-based. The survey covered the entire Kathmandu Valley, including the Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur districts. The fieldwork for the survey was carried out from January 16 to March 6, 2011. The survey was undertaken primarily to track the trend of HIV infection and syphilis in FSWs and to understand sexual behaviors among FSWs in the Kathmandu Valley. Information on the socio-demographic, sexual behavior, pregnancy history and use of family planning devices, drug use and exposure to STI/HIV/AIDS awareness programs was collected through a structured questionnaire, while the prevalence of HIV and syphilis was tested via blood samples.

This is the fourth round of the IBBS conducted among the Female Sex Workers (FSWs) of Pokhara Valley. The survey covered the urban and sub-urban locations falling within the valley of Pokhara. The fieldwork for the survey was carried out from January 16 to March 17, 2011. The survey was undertaken primarily to track the trend of HIV infection and syphilis in FSWs and to assess the sexual behaviors among FSWs in the valley. Information on the demographic, sexual behavior and exposure to STI/HIV/AIDS awareness programs were collected through a structured questionnaire while the prevalence of HIV and syphilis were tested via blood samples.

This report details the findings of the fifth round of the IBBS conducted among 340 male IDUs in the Kathmandu Valley, recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS). A structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents at a centrally located survey center. The questionnaire collected information on sexual behavior and HIV/AIDS awareness as well as socio-demographics. After the interview, clinical examinations were conducted by a Health Assistant and blood samples were collected for HIV and syphilis testing by a lab technician. The test results were provided in coordination with pre- and post-test counseling by a trained counselor in the survey center.

The findings of this report are a testament to the history and commitment of the Lao PDR Government and its partners to responding to HIV. The Lao PDR Government formally mobilized a response to HIV in 1993. It now has a National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS, STI for 2006-2010 and a National Committee for the Control of AIDS with representatives of key Government Ministries. The National Strategic Plan includes targets for universal access to treatment, care and support with international donors, through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), contributing substantially to this goal.  Adolescents and young people at risk of HIV in Lao PDR include young sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), young gay men, other young men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people (TG). This report summarizes key issues to be considered in programme design and implementation for most-at-risk adolescents (MARA) and most-at-risk young people (MARYP), and proposes new areas of research on MARA/MARYP.

Various surveys and studies (e.g. Barbora et al., 2008; Theime, 2006) reveal that migrants are disadvantaged relative to the native population in terms of employment, education and health. While their contributions are often key to the survival of families and communities back home, those who move and those who remain face many vulnerabilities.

Since 1992, the National AIDS Programme has been carrying out the yearly HIV Sentinel Serosurveillance (HSS) among selected (8) sentinel groups. In fact, HSS is the systematic and regular collection of information on the occurrence, distribution and trends of HIV infection and factors associated with the infection for use in Public Health Action.

A key indicator of success of HIV prevention programmes is the number of female sex worker (FSW) sex acts protected by condoms. This measure usually relies on FSW reports, which may be biased. We examined condom availability data in five Karnataka districts to estimate the proportion of FSW sex acts potentially protected by condoms.

Documenting the implementation of a public health programme as per its design is critical to interpretation of results from survey-led outcome and impact evaluation activities, the authors describe the scale-up and coverage of large-scale HIV-prevention services provided to female sex workers (FSWs) and high-risk men who have sex with men (HR-MSM) during the first 5 years of the Avahan programme in India.

The past decade has held high hopes for reducing the rate of new HIV infections among young people. In 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration, affirming their collective responsibility to ensure equitable development for all people, especially children and the most vulnerable, in the 21st century.