Targeted Intervention Project

OMRAH is implementing a Targeted intervention project among 350 IDUS of Cuttack city on the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS STIS with the support of Odisha State AIDS Control Society, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Odisha. The program is continuing as the core populations are more vulnerable to HIV transmission.

Goals: To contribute to the reduction of HIV/AIDS incidence among injecting drug users, their partners, and families and reduces the pool of infection. This will in turn contribute to increased quality of life for IDUS in Cuttack urban slums.

The doctor holds a red ribbon, HIV awareness awareness, World AI

Program Objectives:

To increase the utilization of risk reduction services by IDUS in Cuttack city.
To bring about Behavioural Change by switching from injecting to non-injecting practices.
To reduce the number of people who are injecting.
To reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS among the IDU community.
To reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS from IDUS to partners, offspring, and the wider community.
To create an enabling environment among HIV-infected people.
To reduce the number of injecting drug users by Opioid substitution therapy.

Program Components:

Community Mobilization
Behaviour Change Communication
Enabling environment.
Referral and Linkages
STI Management
Condom Promotion.
Needle syringe exchange and harm minimization for IDUS.
Opioid substitution.

Activity under Targeted Intervention Project

In India, HIV is a concentrated epidemic, which affects specific High-Risk Groups (HRG) like FSW, MSM, IDU, and Bridge Population (truckers and migrants).

Community Mobilization:

Community mobilization improves the quality of TI programs by strengthening the collective bargaining power of the community, community mobilization, enabling community leadership development, and community self-organizing under Tls with all high-risk groups like IDUS.

Mobilizing communities ensures the sustainability of interventions by creating community ownership of interventions.

Community mobilization should provide every community member an opportunity to become a leader or representative in organizations/forums. Processes of community mobilization and ownership building with IDUS should lead to collectivization and the establishment of community-based organizations.

A number of issues unique to IDUS (e.g., the overwhelming need for drugs, the stigma attached to IDUS, and the low esteem of IDUs) present challenges in formalizing the community’s role in the project management structure.

Behavior Change Communication:

Behavior change is a process that takes place over a period of time. While the final outcome of the process would be a positive change in behavior resulting in risk reduction, there would be many ways of monitoring interim changes that would be indicative of whether the change process is in the desired direction..

Ways to reduce harm include safer injecting practices such as NSEP, safer sex options, services available, and ways to prevent and manage abscesses. Beyond the information provision component, the BCC strategy would seek to then motivate IDUs to act on the information received, and also to build their capacity to do so.

Further, a comprehensive BCC strategy would also encompass a component of advocacy among key stakeholders in order that a supportive environment exists for behavior to change and would include a communication skills building exercise for the service providers too, enhancing their skills in interpersonal communication and in the use of effective strategies to encourage behavior change.

Effective BCC goes beyond messages to include two-way dialogue and encompasses both mobilization and advocacy efforts. PES, and ORW of OMRAH a regularly engaged in interpersonal communication with IDUS.

Referral & Linkages

The key objectives of referrals and networking are to ensure that IDUs and their sexual partners have access to the existing medical, psycho-social support, and legal services. A number of unmet needs of IDUS can be met through effective referral networks.

Networks strengthen and build linkages among all key stakeholders such as ICTC, ART, OST, and DOT. Networks provide access to health care services over and above those offered by TIs for IDUS.

Referral networks are needed for the effective prevention of HIV and other infections.

Deepashikha Institute of Technology (An Unit of Omrah)

OMRAH as Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) Vocational Training is a concurrent subject under the Constitution. The Central and state Governments share responsibility for the effective implementation of the vocational training systems in the country. At the national level, the Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T), Ministry of Labour & Employment (MOLE), is the nodal body for formulating policies, laying down norms, and standards, conducting trade tests, and certification of vocational training under the ages of training advisory body National Council of Vocational Training (NCVT).

The training under the SDI scheme is provided at various Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) registered under Central Government, State Governments, Public and Private Sector, Industrial establishments/Institutes, etc. VTPs provide counseling vocational guidance, and training facilities as per norms, and impart quality training, and post-training support to trainees in getting employment. VTPs optimally utilize the training infrastructure available. Provides short course Vocational Training on different subjects. It also provides counseling and imparts quality training and post-training support to trainees in getting employment. VTPs also maintains a database on trainees trained and the outcome of the training, developing training infrastructure in emerging areas. It also tracks the trainees for three years or till they get gainfully employed.

Rural Adolescent Resource Center

The Adolescent Resource Centre of the Orissa Institute of Medical Research and Health Services (OMRAH) is located on the premises of the Matrumangal Kendra (Maternal Health Center) at Kulagaon Ishalo, in the Nischintakoili block of Cuttack district which is functioning Since August 2010. The Resource Center acts as an Information hub for rural adolescent boys and girls to access knowledge on ARSH. This is also a place for adolescents to meet regularly to share their concerns and thereby improve their life skills. The center has been established with support from UNFPA, Odisha.

The very purpose of the Adolescent Resource Center(ARC) is to increase access of rural adolescent boys and girls to knowledge on ARSH and to provide opportunities to acquire life skills. Facilities like a computer, T.V, library, and indoor games are available in the center, leaving aside Newspapers & magazines also available in the library. This year 23 adolescent girls were given life skill training by OMRAH.