PUNE, March 25: Taking a leaf out of the success attained by the Sonagachi project in Calcutta, where 99 per cent of commercial sex workers (CSWs) have reportedly taken up use of condoms, the State Government has cleared three projects amounting to Rs 11 lakh, for setting up sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinics and counselling centres in the red light areas of Pune.Shaken by the National AIDS Research Institute statistics which say 40 per cent of the 40,000 CSWs in Pune are HIV positive, an effort is being made to involve CSWs in condom distribution and spread of AIDS awareness. The clinics, scheduled to come up in the next month, will be managed by three non-government organisations (NGOs) working with CSWs in the city. These include Kayakalp, Akhil Budhwar Peth Devdasi Sangathana and Manavya. All three organisations have been assured grants of Rs 3.5 lakh on the condition that they will add Rs 50,000 of their own.At present, medical presence in red light areas is limited to two clinics, one run by NARI and the other by the Pune Municipal Corporation.``The aim behind setting up the clinics is to bring about a change in their mindset. Insisting on condoms is one of the main ways of staying away from AIDS. And this is what we are trying to convince the women about,'' says Dr Nitin Bora, founder president of Kayakalp. What has also added to the problem is that CSWs do not visit Government-run hospitals and clinics because they feel they are looked down upon.Peer behaviour is being considered of utmost importance. For this 25 CSWs have been recruited to carry forward the message of condom use and dangers of testing HIV positive. They have also been trained to recognise the symptoms of STDs and refer cases to health centres.In the lanes of Budhwar Peth, AIDS is not unknown and women are, surprisingly, well aware of its presence and danger since those who succumb are driven out of brothels and thrown out on the streets to die. ``AIDS is considered dangerous and women are scared they will catch it from the victim,'' informs Bora, whose organisation is also picking up terminal AIDS cases off the streets and referring them to hospitals.
