JAPAN TRUST FUND N E PA L B U I L D I N G
A N
H I V / A I D S - F R I E N D LY
WO R K P L AC E
Population (2001): PROJECT TITLE: Prevention of HIV/AIDS programme for newly recruited police personnel in Nepal through advocacy
23.5 million
Urban population (2000): IMPLEMENTING BODY: Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN)
12%
AIM: To build awareness and positive behaviour change among vulnerable police recruits
Youth (15–29) population: 26%
Enclosed by the vast ranges of the Himalayas, Nepal is one of the most impoverished nations of South Asia. Since the first case was reported in 1988, HIV/AIDS has spread across the mountain kingdom from the confines of vulnerable groups to the broader community.
Unprotected sex and the urban migration of youth are the two key factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nepal. The extreme risks taken by some groups could stimulate a drastic escalation of the epidemic. Although the overall HIV prevalence rate is still relatively low, by 2005 it is estimated that around 20 per cent of adult deaths in the 15–49 age group will be AIDS-related. Some vulnerable groups already have very high rates of infection. Among injecting drug users
Main language/s: Nepali
Official religion: Hinduism (90%)
Literacy level (1997): 38%
Infant mortality (1995–2000): 83 per 1,000 live births
in Kathmandu the HIV prevalence rate is close to 70 per cent. Life expectancy (1995–2000):
MULTIPLE RISK FACTORS A range of factors increases youth vulnerability. Young men often travel far from home to work and many bring STI/HIV/AIDS back with them. New city immigrants generally find themselves working in the low-paid garment and carpet-manufacturing industries where poverty often forces people to look to unsafe means of supplementing their income. The
trafficking of young girls across the Indian border to work in the sex industry boosts the youth infection rate. Another employment possibility is the police force – most new recruits are drawn from the Nepal countryside. This is perhaps not surprising as in 2001 only 12 per cent of the Nepal population lived in the cities. The challenge for HIV/AIDS organizations in Nepal was to design an approach that met the needs of a largely poorly educated rural society. This would be the first HIV/AIDS
programme geared to primary education level.
BUILDING AND TESTING A NEW MODEL The FPAN selected two police colleges as project sites. These provided the FPAN with an ideal environment for the development of a new model:
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57 years
GNI per capita (1999): US$220
Adult HIV prevalence (end 2001): 0.5%
Unprotected sex and the urban migration of youth are the two key factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nepal.
most police recruits have had few opportunities for higher education and economic advancement
THE INTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION (IPPF) is a global network of Member Associations in 148 countries and the world's foremost voluntary, non-governmental provider and advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights. IPPF envisages a world in which every woman, man and young person has access to the information and services they need; in which sexuality is recognized both as a natural and precious aspect of life and as a fundamental human right; a world in which choices are fully respected and where stigma and discrimination have no place. 1
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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS APPROVAL IN THE TOP RANKS Gaining the approval of the Inspector General of the Nepal Police and other highranking officers for the programme to be implemented. Buy-in at this level was critical. TRAINING ORIENTATION Two-day orientation programmes were organized with 45 key police personnel responsible for training as well as for new police recruits. In all, a total of 1,050 new police recruits were involved in 20 sessions. REVIEW AND REVISION Problems were resolved early because of the review process which also promoted discussion between police headquarters, the training centres and FPAN staffers on future programme collaboration.
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police recruits are especially vulnerable because of the temptations of the urban environment
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the police training curriculum did not include an HIV/AIDS component, so a specially developed module could be included in future training programmes
The project set out to develop a course module to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, influence unsafe sexual practices and help reduce HIV infection rates. By providing high-ranking officers of the Nepal Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs with a basic understanding of HIV/AIDS, the potential for the development of internal capacity to run HIV prevention programmes would increase. This would ensure subsequent generations of police recruits benefited.
ENSURING CONTINUITY Although the programme of activities was interrupted during the course of the year by a State of Emergency, the FPAN is confident that the project contributed to a reduction in HIV prevalence rates amongst new police recruits. The new module developed by the project will be incorporated into the existing police training curriculum. The FPAN will run some of the back-up activities from within its core programmes.
USING A MULTIMEDIA APPROACH IN THE POLICE COLLEGES • •
Booklets on STI/HIV/AIDS were distributed.
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Film shows were organized, followed by lively discussion sessions.
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HIV/AIDS messages were printed onto pens, T-shirts and towels.
Videos produced by the Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT) were dubbed into the Nepali language. Folk-song competitions relating to safe sexual behaviour, sensitivity towards people living with HIV/AIDS, and the need for youth SRH education were held.
LESSONS LEARNED REINFORCEMENT If programmes on STI/HIV/AIDS were introduced in other organized sectors the messages would be reinforced. FOLLOW-UP The FPAN needs to ensure that HIV/AIDS-related services become part of its core service offering. EMPOWERMENT Equipping sectors to conduct their own training programmes is essential to project sustainability.
JAPAN TRUST FUND FOR HIV/AIDS (JTF) is IPPF's first fund established exclusively to support the HIV/AIDS prevention programmes of its Member Associations. This is funded entirely by the Government of Japan and is a key instrument in IPPF's response to HIV/AIDS. The objective of the JTF is to enhance the institutional capacity and managerial skills of IPPF and its Member Associations in Africa and Asia to carry out effective and innovative prevention and care programmes for STI/HIV/AIDS. Since the establishment of the JTF in October 2000, 32 Member Associations in Africa and Asia have received support from the fund to implement a total of 64 projects. 2