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Projects
ASSIGNMENTS / PROJECTS
That set H.E.D.S. in motion
AIDS was a rapidly
rising crisis among sex-workers of Calcutta Metropolis
1992:
HEDS initiated a STD / HI / Intervention Programme
for commercial sex-
workers, in the Kalighat area of
Calcutta.
A clinic was opened
in December '92 and HEDS ran the programme
independently, with only technical
assistance from the All India Institute of
Hygiene & Public Health (AIIH&PH) and in
collaboration with some other
NGO's.
The location itself was a
challenge, because Kalighat happened to be an "ancient'
place of pilgrimage and "prostitution" was a classic inheritance of
tradition found
in many places across India and the world. It was India in
microcosm, seen in that
light.
1993:
Howrah, another very old, industrial township on the opposite bank
of the river
Hooghly across Calcutta, was the next location.
Two "red
light zones" were earmarked for STD/HIV Intervention Programme in
April '93.
The programme was later expanded to cover other similar
1ocations in the old,
high..density city areas of Bowbazar and Tollygunge.
Kalighat, Howrah,
Bowbazar and Tollygunge - were actually
extensions of HEDS
teams working with/among sex-workers of Sonagacchi,
one of the largest centres
of sex-working in India.
1994:
The Health
Directorate of the Govt. of Meghalaya in the North-Eastern
part of
India - assigned HEDS the task of
assessing the sex-work industry and drug-
addicted population of the State.
The 6-month project was carried out on a
turnkey basis. And the result was a
breakthrough Survey Report complete with maps/charts/data - the
first of its kind
in the hill-state.
The Sonagachi Project
- The name for the STD/HIV Intervention Programme in
Calcutta - is now under the supervision of a Board of Trustees, in which
the --
workers & volunteers are actively involved.
The programme has become a
role model in AIDS Prevention and Control
worldwide,
particularly because of the high rate of success in its endeavours.
Health & Eco Defence Society
