Included among Alliance participants at ICAAP were 11 members of Alliance India. Alliance India-Andhra Pradesh (AIAP) made three oral presentations, while the Alliance India Delhi secretariat presented a poster on “integrating paediatrics HIV care services into community-based care and support programmes in India.” AIAP’s presentations were on “effective methods for making services available to home-based sex workers,” “impact of the community-led advocacy model to effectively address issues of advocacy,” and “impact of Magnet theatre performances by community members.” The unique aspect of these presentations was that facilitators consisted exclusively of community representatives, including female sex workers, people living with HIV, and men who have sex with men.
Moijuddin, an outreach coordinator for the Avahan project in the state of Andhra Pradesh, presented on the impact of magnet theatre, explaining that it is an innovative and interactive theatre that emphasises key populations and audience participation. This kind of theatre has created an impact on key population members and resulted in an increased number of people visiting clinics. There has been a tremendous increase in demand and sale of condoms. Moijuddin added that coverage of key populations has increased through Magnet theatre. Since the magnet theatre initiative began, more members of key populations have come forward to work as peer educators, outreach workers and community-based organisation staff members.
The presentation on the impact of the community-led advocacy model to effectively address issues of advocacy was facilitated by an outreach worker, S.N. Babu, from Andhra Pradesh state. Babu explained that the Core Advocacy Model is an innovative experiment that brings all community members together under one roof. These members consist of female sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgendered people, and people living with HIV. The Core Advocacy Model creates sustainable structures led by the community and designed with community participation. These structures cover all districts, sites and “hotspots”. Community members are trained in practical advocacy skills to deal with various stakeholders to address issues of violence, stigma, extortion, and accessing better services.
The Alliance India team found this year’s ICAAP to be a great experience in developing networking, understanding local, regional and global responses to HIV, exchanging meaningful experiences, discussing challenges faced and successes achieved in HIV programming. The conference also allowed for the sharing of best practices, and exploring and forming meaningful and sustainable partnerships between stakeholders at all levels. Participants gained an overall understanding of ensuring that people affected by HIV are free from stigmatisation, marginalisation and discrimination by addressing political, social, economic and cultural barriers and promoting equal access to prevention, support, treatment and care for all people. |
