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24 September, 2008
Boehringer Ingelheim/ICEM
India Project 2008-2009
Based on the initiation work by ICEM and its affiliates in India and following an analysis of the prevailing problems and needs during the workshop in November 2006, the following project for the period July 2008 to December 2009 was agreed.
Objectives
• To fill the existing gap of qualified peer educators/lay counsellors in the industrial sectors covered by ICEM affiliates in India;
• To up-scale awareness campaigns, education and advocacy for VCT and ART;
• To familiarise medical and para-medical staff in medical facilities of companies, Welfare Board members and staff at company schools with HIV/AIDS to ensure awareness, confidentiality, non-discrimination and non-victimisation;
• To publish brochures, leaflets and posters in five different languages (Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi and English).
Activities
• Training of 500 peer educators/lay counsellors in 20 programmes of three days each;
• Orientation of 250 medical and para-medical staff in company health facilities in ten programmes of one day each;
• Orientation of welfare board and committee members;
• Orientation of 200 teachers and staff at company schools in eight programmes of one day each;
• Orientation of officials of local self-government;
• Publication of brochures, leaflets and posters in five languages;
• Observation of World AIDS Day – organising rallies, meetings and symposiums.
Target Groups
The target groups are as per above activities. For the training of peer educators/lay counsellors 400 will be unionists from the coal mining sector and 100 from the diamond and cement sectors.
For the other target groups they will be predominantly from the coal mining sector as few medical facilities or company schools exist outside that sector.
Orientation of officials of local self-government is not envisaged in the first year of the project.
Expected Results
It is expected that peer educators/lay counsellors drawn from the ranks of the union can actively promote VCT among workers, their family members and the wider community. They are non-medical staff whose main objective will be Know-your-Status-Campaigns. VCT will be carried out at company or public medical facilities. It is difficult to quantify expected results but it can be safely said that the baseline is close to zero; i.e. that very few people go for voluntary counselling and testing.
It is assumed that the companies give such trained people some time off from their normal work duties.