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Mukta
 Pathfinder International’s Mukta project works in 10 districts of the state of Maharashtra to reduce the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers and other vulnerable populations, and thus control the spread of HIV/AIDS. The project is part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Avahan Initiative, which supports HIV/AIDS prevention work in six states of India.
Mukta (meaning “freedom” in the local language) is spread across 65 cities, towns, and villages and is currently partnering with 15 local nongovernmental organizations. The project works with sex workers and men having sex with men (MSM), their regular partners, and clients, through peer educators from the sex worker community, change agents like auto drivers and lodge boys, and saathis, or sex worker “friends.” These groups play key roles in empowering sex worker communities by creating an environment that not only keeps them safe, but allows them to gain greater control over their lives.
Since 2004, Mukta has established strong systems for comprehensive healthcare services and effective peer-based behavior change communication through 38 health care providers and 74 mobile medical outreach and a network of close to 240 peer educators. The peer educators use interactive tools in native languages including micro-planning tools and job-aids such as the Hotspot Mobilization Calendar (a tool adapted to the needs of illiterate peer educators) and palm sized pictorial flipbooks to facilitate their work. These tools and materials are used at every session to engage clients in learning and practicing new and healthy behaviors in their work.
More specifically, Mukta’s employs a wide array of strategies to empower and mobilize sex worker and MSM communities. These include:
- Training sex workers to serve as peer educators to teach community members about the transmission and dangers associated with STIs and HIV/AIDS;
- Delivering important health promotion messages and contraception;
- Working with and training local health care providers to provide quality STI prevention and treatment services;
- Advocating for the rights of sex workers with various stakeholders, including the police and other local parties such as auto-rickshaw drivers and owners of brothels and lodges;
- Encouraging the formation of self help groups; and
- Working to empower and encourage the self-sufficiency of community members.
After five years of implementation, Mukta has already had a visible impact, with sex workers from across Maharashtra joining hands to make their work safer. In fact, during the first phase of the project (2004-2009), the project achieved a 30 percent decline in rates of STIs among the project’s target populations, thereby reducing their vulnerability to HIV infection. In the coming year, Mukta Phase II will focus on consolidating and sustaining impact through a planned transfer of district interventions to government and communities in line with the Avahan II goal.
other projects in india
PRAGYA– A gender operations research study about delaying age of marriage: This three year project focuses on promoting gender equality and delaying the age of marriage.
PRACHAR: Promoting Change in Reproductive Behavior: A major project working to improve the reproductive health status of adolescents and young couples in Bihar state.
Continuum of Care: Addressing Postpartum Hemorrhage in India and Nigeria: A major project to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with postpartum hemorrhage in India and Nigeria.
Community Partnerships for Family Well-Being: A project in Madan Pur Khader focused on increasing awareness about reproductive health among adolescents and young couples within the overall health of families.
Access to Safe Abortion: A project working in five districts of Bihar to improve women’s access to safe abortion and improve community awareness of healthy behaviors surrounding the termination of pregnancy.
Safe Abortion Training, Care, and Services in Karnataka: Recently ended, this project increased access to safe abortion services and postabortion care in the impoverished northern districts of Karnataka.
IPPF Safe Abortion Action Fund: A two-year grant from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) supporting safe abortion activities in Ghana, India, Mozambique, and South Africa.
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