Intense awareness campaigns and right counselling at the community level helps reduce the risk of HIV and AIDS,reveals a study by Population Council and its partners. The study conducted in Mumbais slum pockets suggests counselling to curb HIV,extra- marital sex and alcohol abuse. According to the findings,extra marital sex among men reduced from 12.5 per cent in the year 2002 to 2.9 per cent in 2006. Also prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) among married men dropped from 3.2 per cent in 2002 to 1.7 per cent in 2006. The study carried out among married men with high-risk behavior,has shown that awareness campaigns can indeed curb the spread of HIV. The study was conducted as part of the RISHTA project in three large slum settlements of Mumbai-Mankhurd,Cheeta Camp and Bainganwadi- between 2002-07 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in partnership with several other Indian and international organisations including TN Medical College attached with BYL Nair Hospital and the University of Connecticut. The findings of the study were published in the June edition of American Journal of Community Psychology. About 2,400 married men were interviewed from the community in the baseline and about 2,700 in the end line- with a subset same in the base line,to arrive at the findings, said Dr Niranjan Saggurti,project director HIV AIDS section,Population Council,Delhi. Partner violence has also shown a drastic reduction with an increase in marital sexual satisfaction and gender equity. Since STIs often preceded HIV,the RISHTA project focussed on reducing STIs through a range of community-based activities such as street theatre,counselling and the involvement AYUSH doctors in the narrative prevention counselling programme developed by IIPS, said Dr Sagguti. Experts involved in the project say that the findings have thrown up facts that can be used for planning more campaigns to prevent the spread of HIV Urging a more inclusive approach,Saroj Pachauri,Population Councils Regional Director for South & East Asia,said,The project has demonstrated that to bring about lasting change among communities it is important to work at multiple levels. Population Council and its partners have now taken up the second phase of the project in the same cluster of slums with a focus on protecting married women from HIV-AIDS.
