Maharashtra STD/AIDS and related infectious diseases program

The program will also implement selected activities at the national level. Activities in Maharashtra, to be implemented by the AIDS Research and Control Organization (ARCON), will focus on combating STDs/HIV/AIDS in the sex industry in the urban areas of Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and the rural district of Sangli. Efforts will include: (1) improving comprehensive health services for risk groups and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), including developing protocols for integrated health care and training providers in these protocols, implementing referrals and outreach models, and detecting and treating tuberculosis; (2) funding behavior change efforts by NGOs and community-based groups (CBGs) among high-risk groups and developing the capacity of the to-be- formed Maharashtra AIDS Society (MSACS) and the Brihan-Mumbai Municipal Corporation AIDS Society (BMCAS) to plan, manage, and strengthen these NGO/CBG efforts; (3) supporting efforts in mass, as well as interpersonal and small group, communication; and (4) improving access to and use of condoms in the sex industry by stimulating the commercial sector"s role in condom marketing, conducting advertising programs to promote condom use, and removing retail barriers to condom purchase. Pilot/demonstration programs for out-of-school youth are also envisioned. The program will also combat HIV/AIDS in the Maharashtra sex industry by: (1) training state and municipal program staff in HIV/AIDS strategic planning, program implementation, and monitoring and evaluation, providing short- and long-term consultants, and assisting the State of Maharashtra in program planning; and (2) improving data for program decisionmaking by conducting studies for designing and monitoring the performance of the sex industry intervention program in Maharashtra, developing a long-term program of research and surveillance relevant to the State"s overall HIV/AIDS program, and disseminating research findings and epidemiological data. Activities at the national level, to be implemented in tandem with a new program to be funded by the World Bank, will include: (1) a program of applied and operations research designed to provide the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) with data for advocacy, decision making, strategic planning, program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation; and (2) pilot and demonstration projects of innovative, cost-effective approaches of prevention and care in areas/groups of epidemiological or programmatic significance. Consideration is also being given to using global field support mechanisms to enable the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) to help India develop its national disease surveillance system.