World Visions work with HIV and AIDS in Rajasthan, India'

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World Visions work with HIV and AIDS in
Rajasthan, India.
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India has a population of over 1.2 billion people
(!) and is the worlds largest democracy.
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A growing economic power, it still suffers from
major economic and social problems.
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High amongst these problems is the rapid spread
of HIV and AIDS. Since the early 90s there has
been a sharp increase in prevalence rates, with
2.5 million people living with HIV in India today.
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World Vision has been working to curb the spread
of HIV and AIDS in projects all over India. This
years 24 Hour Famine is focusing on one project
taking place in the state of Rajasthan in
North-West India.
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In Rajasthan, one of the biggest HIV hotspots is
along National Highway No. 8, the main road link
between Mumbai and Delhi. Over 25,000 truckers
use this highway every day.
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Villages have developed in clusters along the
length of the highway.
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The Rajnat community populate many of these
villages.
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Formerly entertainers to the kings of India, the
Rajnat now rely on commercial sex work to
financially support these communities.
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Women and girls as young as 12 are the principal
earners.
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The Rajnats income relies heavily on the mobile
population of truck drivers who use the highway
everyday and stop regularly for girls.
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This situation puts both the truckers and the
commercial sex workers into a high risk sexual
network.
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The way this network works is simple - if a sex
worker unknowingly becomes HIV positive from one
of her customers she will continue working.
This means that she is highly likely to pass HIV
onto new customers, who are mainly trucker
drivers. These truck drivers may then spread the
virus to other sex workers or to wives at home,
who in turn unwittingly infect children and other
family members.
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This cycle continues and has the potential to
affect entire communities - the virus is spread
from a customer to a sex worker, from the sex
worker to a trucker, from a trucker to his wife
and from this wife and mother to her child
(during birth or breast-feeding).
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Without education and awareness of these issues,
HIV can spread exponentially and have a
devastating effect on families and communities.
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BUT there are things being done!
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The Indian government has been working to tackle
the impact of HIV by providing free paediatric
ARVs (Anti-Retroviral Treatment) in high
prevalence areas.
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However, limitations exist, notably the lack of
transport provided for HIV positive children from
rural villagers to travel to urban hospitals for
treatment they desperately need.
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World Vision India has launched a number of
initiatives to curb the spread of HIV and to
reduce commercial sex work. Our principal
programme in Rajasthan is the Jeevan Asha
Healthy Highway Project, the focus of the 2009
World Vision 24 Hour Famine.
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This project has assisted the set-up of self-help
groups, in which women from a village come
together to share problems, to discuss ideas for
small businesses and to offer support and advice
to community-members living with HIV and AIDS.
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World Vision has helped provide schools and
community centres where children are able to
receive an education attending school is
something most Rajnat children had previously
been denied by other communities who frowned upon
the Rajnat way of life and prevented Rajnat
children attending local schools.
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Peer educators are being recruited to act as
advocates - sharing stories and educating people
about the dangers of HIV and AIDS and about
alternative livelihood choices.
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Mobile exhibitions explain to both truckers and
sex workers the dangers of sexually transmitted
infections and about how they can be prevented
and treated.
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Livelihood training courses offer Rajnat women an
alternative to commercial sex work.
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World Vision is helping to make a real impact to
the lives of the Rajnat communities in Rajasthan.
Make your impact too by taking part in this
years 24 Hour Famine. Sign up to receive more
information and a DVD looking at the full story
of the Rajnat on our website www.thepinkcity.org.

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