Friday, 11 October 2013

DAPCU BHADRAK Response: DAPCU -Stigma & Discrimination

              
 Roles and Responsibilities of DAPCU respect to stigma and      discrimination
·        Strategies for reduction of stigma.
·        What are the services accessible to reduce stigma.
·        In the health care setting.
·        District administration and its department.
·        In the community setting.
·        Please share any achievement in reducing stigma and discrimination.

                    Some strategies for reduction of stigma :
·        AIDS is a life threatening disease that a person carries the HIV virus throughout his/ her life till death. Now days such disease has created a morbid fear in the mind of common people as such no permanent remedy has developed in medical science. Stigma is a social attitude / thought emerges from own culture and belief. In view of the above DAPCU has taken some strategies to reduce the stigma in different situation. Stigma stands in the following situations/ levels :
a.      Community level.
b.     Family based.
c.      Health care situation.
d.     Religion & Culture.
e.      Media.
f.       Educational Institution.
g.      Work place (Corporate / industrial sector, where group of people work together).
h.     Administration (where some duty bearers have ill attitude towards the HIV infected people in discharging their services).
   DAPCU has made the following strategies to reduce the stigma in different level as follows:
 Community level campaign:
a.      Campaign for AIDS for NO AIDS.
b.     IEC/ Advocacy.
c.      Sensitization workshop on HIV/AIDS.
d.     Fixing hoardings on HIV/ TB/STD.
e.      ARSH training to adolescent girls.
 Besides that DAPCU has made the following action plan to reduce the stigma in different levels…..
1.     Need assessment.
2.     Vulnerable Mapping.
3.     Strengthening service delivery structures.
4.     Targeted intervention strategies.
5.     Condom promotion.
6.     Developing health seeking behaviour.
7.     Family strengthening programme.
8.     Farming Red Ribbon club.
   Other strategies/ services are being planned to reduce stigma, especially health, education and administration level.
                          
o   Priority on hospice care.
o   Priority on palliative care.
o   Day care, home care, hospital care and hospice care.
o   Counselling through ICTC and other service delivery points like DOTS Centre, EID Centre, Link ART/ ART Centre, STD clinic, Doctors clinic to the patients and his/ her family members.
o   Sensitization training to all the health care providers in the hospital.
o   School AIDS education programme.
o   Awareness through Red Ribbon Club.
o   Blood safety programme.
o   Health camp and STI screening programme.
o   Observing World AIDS Day by the responsibility / involvement of District administration.
o   Convergence with different line Depts. and make aware the duty bewares.
o   In the DAPCC review meeting, any topics/ issues related to HIV/AIDS are discussed to the members of the committee.
o   Work place intervention like awareness/ workshop in different factories / industries/ corporate sectors.
o   Advocacy to different stakeholders/ civil society partners/ Govt. officials through mainstreaming.
o   Media sensitization programme for writing on stigmatizing and no discriminating words.
o   Focussing on moralizing writings.
o   Motivating people for not engaging in high risk behaviour.
o   Providing administration and service providers with correct information on HIV/AIDS.
o   Campaign for togetherness in melas/ religious place/ cultural festivals.
o   Folk campaign/ Radio jingle playing.
o   Walling/ painting leaflets and its promotion in community level.
o   Involving the HIV affected people in the social benefit scheme as they think their rights rather discouragement. All the above strategies are the ongoing process of DAPCU to reduce the stigma and discrimination in different levels.

EXPERIENCE –I.
  Two school going orphan CLHIV were victimised with stigma during their school. DAPCU and TI partner and District Administration made the awareness programme in the concerned school, on HIV/AIDS, after that the school and the students accepted the children as normal.
  This was happened in Barabhagia sasan under Bhadrak Block.
EXPERIENCE – II.
  One family and the patient were discriminated by the villagers due to stigma in the Guamal village under Tihidi Block. After the massive awareness programme in that particular village, on HIV/ AIDS with the help of PRI members, the villagers accepted that family and treated them as normal.
                                     
Stigma always facilitates discrimination. Due to stigma, people suffer from discrimination. Once stigma is reduced, the discrimination cannot be happen. Everyone behaves to HIV/AIDS affected people differently and does not accept them as normal only due to stigma. Stigma is harmful but Discrimination is more painful. Stigma is the cause but Discrimination is its effect.

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