Publications

The survey has been conducted as part of the third round of MICS surveys (MICS3), carried out around the world in more than 50 countries, in 2005-2006, following the first two rounds of MICS surveys that were conducted in 1995 and the year 2000. Survey tools are based on the models and standards developed by the global MICS project, designed to collect information on the situation of children and women in countries around the world. Additional information on the global MICS project may be obtained from www.childinfo.org.

The global commitment to Universal Access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 will remain hollow without extraordinary steps to strengthen the health system. Fostering linkages within the health sector — for a start — brings all service delivery points to bear to better detect and treat HIV and AIDS among population of men, women and children who may be at high risk but are unaware of their status. Buttressing the linkage of a set of services, each with a constituency of users who may be exposed to HIV, is a systematic scale up of services with a vast scope for expansion. Such linkages utilize the strength of each channel — through sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health, adolescent, maternal, newborn and child health services — to bolster the health system’s overall response to one of 21st century’s most harrowing epidemics.

The project will contribute to the national development goals of the Interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy (I-ANDs) o f maintaining Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence below 0.5 percent in the general population and below 5 percent among vulnerable groups at high risk o f infection. The project’s development objectives are to slow down the spread o f HIV and build up the national capacity to respond to the epidemic. This will be accomplished by: (a) behavior change among vulnerable groups at high risk; and (b) improving knowledge of HIV prevention and reducing stigma related to HIV and (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) AIDS in the general population.

The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of Sri Lanka has been annually conducting HIV Sentinel sero-surveillance since 1993. This survey was initially designed on the guidelines prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1989. The purpose of HIV sentinel survey is to track HIV infection levels through ‘watch post’ institutions.

The 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) was carried out by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) from early September 2006 to late-February 2007. The PDHS is one of the largest household-based surveys ever conducted in Pakistan. Teams visited 972 sample points across Pakistan and collected data from a nationally representative sample of over 95,000 households. Unlike the standard DHS design, the PDHS was designed with the objective of obtaining data related to maternal and neonatal health, especially to obtain an accurate measure of the maternal mortality ratio, as well as to obtain data on the causes of deaths to women and children. Consequently, all households were interviewed with a questionnaire that elicited information on recent births and deaths to household members. Recent deaths to adult women and children under five were followed with a more detailed interview on symptoms and characteristics of the deceased.

The Cambodian Demographic Health Survey (CDHS), conducted in 2005, included assessment of HIV infection status. The results of the survey, which was based on a household sampling methodology, were formally released by the National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, in April 2007. The estimated national prevalence of HIV infection among adults aged 15-49 was 0.6%, and was identical in males and females.

The 2006 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is the seventh in a series of demographic surveys conducted in the country and is the third survey conducted as part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program. The 2006 NDHS includes topics related to fertility levels and determinants, family planning, fertility preferences, infant, child, adult and maternal mortality, maternal and child health, nutrition, knowledge of HIV/AIDS and women’s empowerment. The 2006 NDHS for the first time also includes anemia testing among women age 15-49 and children age 6-59 months. As well as providing national estimates, the survey also provides disaggregated data at the level of various domains such as ecological region, development region, as well as for urban and rural areas. This being the third survey of its kind, there is considerable trend information on reproductive and health care over the past 10 years.

The major recommendation of this paper is to strongly increase resources available for age- and gender- appropriate HIV prevention and support services for young people engaging in high risk behaviors: injecting drug users, young women and men involved in sex work and young men who have sex with men. The coverage of comprehensive interventions that specifically reach these young people should be scaled up to reach 50% in 2010 and 80% in 2015. Despite the huge difference in physical and cognitive development levels within the age group of 10 to 24 year olds (defined as adolescents and young people) the current HIV prevention services for people engaging in high risk behaviors are not age-specific. For the age group of 18 to 24, operations research is needed to study whether the effectiveness of existing programs can be further increased by making them more appropriate. For those under 18, it is proposed that, in principle, interventions should aim at providing alternatives to the behaviors in question and preventing exploitation. For those who have no alternative or do not wish to change their behavior, the paper urges a rights-based approach aimed at reducing harm to the child – i.e. they should not be withheld their right to access prevention services because of their young age.

This report presents the findings and conclusions from the fifth round of the national HIV serological and behavioural surveillance that was conducted between June 2003 and March 2004. The information obtained can serve as a tool to inform programme policy and interventions, to advocate for increased resources and investment in prevention, aid in targeting interventions, and in measuring their progress and impact.

Every year the number of cases of violence against women and girls reported worldwide is overwhelming. This is more alarming given the fact that the number is said to be largely under-reported, especially in South Asian countries like Nepal. This study is a compilation of the real life incidents of women who have experienced the intersections of Violence and HIV. It is complemented by another research study that reviews gaps and ambiguities in policies on HIV and Violence against Women.