Publications

The Adolescent Peer Organised Network (APON) project grew out of a large Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) programme aimed at providing basic education to underprivileged children, especially girls, who have not previously attended primary school.

Sri Lanka, with a population of 19 million, had a relatively small number of HIV-infected people—about 4,800 adults and children—as of the end of 2002, according to UNAIDS. Since 1986, only 415 cases have been officially reported, however, with underreporting due mainly to limited availability of counseling and testing and a prevailing fear of facing social stigma after being identified as HIV positive. The HIV infection rate among adults between the ages of 15 and 49 is estimated by UNAIDS to be less than 0.1 percent.

National HIV/AIDS programmes world wide comprise a variety of interventions or actions aimed at reducing spread of HIV, providing care & support to the affected and alleviating socio-economic and human impact. Resources are always limited, and being able to decide which interventions are most appropriate and cost-effective (and thus to be given highest priority) is of critical importance. Different types of trials or operational research have been used to demonstrate effects of a given intervention conducted in a particular setting (efficacy).

Male sex workers (MSWs) comprise an important group at risk of HIV infection in South Asia. There are few published studies about their HIV or STD prevalence, numbers, socio-demographic characteristics or risk behaviors, although there is a growing literature on the more general category of men who have sex with men (MSM) in South Asia. Most published studies are concerned with describing behavioural risk and issues of identity and gender, but we have found none that evaluates or describes HIV prevention interventions. In Bangladesh, however, considerable progress has been made in research, prevention, HIV/syphilis and behavioral surveillance surveys (BSS) among MSM in general and among MSWs in particular. BSS are repeated quantitative surveys carried out in specific populations to track changes in the frequency of behavioural risk factors associated with the spread of HIV infection. The methodology of BSS is semi-standardized and allows comparison across countries and between samples within a country. Probability sampling, once established in sentinel populations, permits comparisons across years and can examine the effects of exposure to an intervention or to a package of interventions in a particular location. Data from the Bangladesh behavioural surveillance demonstrate the impact of a behavioural intervention on MSWs in Dhaka. Nonetheless, overall condom use remains low. MSWs in Bangladesh remain at high risk in an environment with high levels of syphilis, but continuing low HIV prevalence. This paper presents selected results of several studies on MSWs in Dhaka, Bangladesh conducted between 1998 and 2000.  

This report has been prepared in October-April 2004 by the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviours at Imperial College on behalf of the UN Reference on HIV/AIDS prevention and care among IDUs in developing and transitional countries. Its purpose is to examine the extent to which the international community’s commitment to adequate and equitable care for those with HIV/AIDS has been translated into action in developing and transitional countries particularly when applied to injecting drug users. The provision of effective treatment and care for all people with HIV/AIDS is now accepted as an integral component of a comprehensive and expanded response to the epidemic. All member states of the United Nations and partner international agencies are committed to reducing the gap between developed and developing countries and making treatment and care available to all who require it.

The injecting drug users function as a “bridging population” for HIV transmission between a core HIV risk group and the general population. The main objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of HIV among IDUs and assess their role in the transmission of HIV. The study was conducted in the three districts: Morang, Sunsary and Jhapa of Eastern Nepal. Three hundred and forty-five IDUs were sampled from 23 randomly selected sites, through respondent-driven sampling (RDS).

AIDS is the leading cause of death for people aged 15-29 in the world, and although rates have declined slightly in recent years, Cambodia still has the highest HIV seroprevalence in Asia. HIV can be transmitted through blood products and injection drug use but heterosexual contact, primarily through the sex trade, remains the major route of HIV transmission in Cambodia.

Injecting drug user function as a “bridging population” for HIV transmission between a core HIV risk group and the general population. The main objective of this study is “to estimate the prevalence of HIV among IDUs and assess their role in the transmission of HIV.” The study was conducted in Pokhara Valley of Kaski districts. Three hundred IDUs were sampled from 20 randomly selected sites, through respondent-driven sampling (RDS).

Hong Kong, located in Asia the new burning place of HIV infection, is still having a relatively low prevalence of HIV infection. While sexual transmission is the predominant route of transmission in Hong Kong, an upsurge of infection in injecting drug users is a concern from the experience in other Asian localities. Various public health measures in Hong Kong have kept the HIV prevalence of drug users at low level, as compared with neighbouring cities.

The aim of this study is to discuss the role of NGOs in HIV/AIDS work, but also what capability the government possesses in the field, in Cambodia. The starting-point is that the HIV/AIDS situation and the NGO community in Cambodia are unusual. The Cambodian state is seen from a weak state perspective. A policy process approach is used to see in what phases the actors are capable and incapable respectively. It was found that both NGOs and the government take advantage of each others weaknesses and strengths. The government does not emphasise implementation due to that NGOs constitute a strong group of actors in this field. Still, in formulating HIV/AIDS sensitive policies the government is active and the Cambodian political commitment in relation to HIV/AIDS is unique in a Third World perspective.