UNODC is cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS - UNAIDS
Oral Presentations, 29 January 2008
Services for Female Drug Users and Regular Female Sexual Partners of Drug Users
Presenter:Ms. Lipi Chowdhury, Consultant, UNODC, ROSA
Co-Presenter: Ms. Ashita Mittal, Senior National Programme Officer, UNODC, ROSA
Ms. Lipi Chowdhury
Ms. Lipi Chowdhury is a post graduate from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India, and is the recipient of the Vice President of India's Award for the Best Student in a Masters Program in Social Work where her specialization was in Criminology and Correctional Administration. Prior to this, while studying for her Postgraduate Degree in Psychology with Organizational Behaviour from University of Delhi, she acquired a combination of research experiences in the areas of corporate human resources, prison welfare and reforms. She has worked extensively at the grassroots level with various NGOs in interrelated areas of mental health, HIV/AIDS, human rights and crime; especially with IDUs and prisoners.
A Fulbright scholar, Ashita has a postgraduate degree in Social Work from Delhi University and has experience of working in the UN system for over 15 years. She possesses extensive professional experience in handling and monitoring programmes relating to drugs and HIV. She is serving as the Senior National Programme Officer at ROSA and has special interests in gender-related issues and has served as ROSA's focal point on gender, HIV/AIDS and health. Known for possessing good communication skills, she has also been involved in various initiatives at the grass-roots levels.
Ms. Ashita Mittal
Objectives
Issues
Need for enhancing the capacity of service providers to address health and social challenges faced by drug users living/affected with HIV and their Regular Sexual Partners (RSPs).
Develop a gender sensitive service delivery model for incorporating positive living concerns in interventions.
Method
The project supported 32 interventions delivering comprehensive services for IDUs and their RSPs. Eight RRTCs provided ongoing training and mentoring to these interventions. The project collaborated with Positive Women Network (PWN+) to address issues faced by women living with HIV who are either current/ ex-drug users. A PWN+ Key Contact was placed in each of the RRTCs to enable incorporation of positive living in their training programs.
A 'Ripple Effect' training strategy was used to address HIV care and support issues in the context of positive living to enable effective service delivery. It included national, sub-regional, NGO and demo site level trainings that facilitated ongoing capacity building of the service providers.
Results
Total 151 participants and 109 master trainers created
25 ongoing trainings at the demonstration site level
68% correct responses at post training as compared to 22% at the pre-training on evaluation
Training Module and IEC materials developed
Conclusion
Lessons Learnt:
Demonstrated effectiveness of gender sensitive service delivery model in positive concerns
Future Directions:
Collaboration with positive networks and trainings in the region, for instance, Lanka Plus in Sri Lanka, to carry out capacity building based on the service delivery model
Strengthen relationships between the various counterparts such as National Governments and NGOs.
Country-centric adaptation of the module and IEC materials
Conclusion:
Capacity building on Positive Living is essential to the effective service delivery for HIV care and treatment for drug users and their RSPs
Ms. Lipi Chowdhury
Ms. Ashita Mittal
