COMPLETED WORKS
2002 - 1st National Consultation for Women: 1st national consultation which created a platform to address the special needs, concerns, and issues of Women Living with HIV (WLHIV). 45 WLHIV from ten states, 9 Project Directors from State AIDS Control Societies, a Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Network of Positive People (APN+), and representatives of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVA) participated in the four–day consultation.
2002 – Legal literacy for WLHIV: Supported by Marg and UNIFEM, the project aimed to educate WLH/A on fundamental rights, the constitution, and the functioning of the legal and judiciary system, and advocate for the rights of WLHIV. WLHIV in 5 states were trained on fundamental rights, constitution and judiciary functioning and Legal literacy workshops conducted in 10 districts in Tamil Nadu with the support of TANSACS
2004 - 2011 - Establishing Drop In - Centers (DIC) for women living with HIV/AIDS: Supported by Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), Drop-in Center (DIC) established in Chennai to improve the quality of life of women and children living with HIV through psycho-social support and referral services.
2004 - 2nd National Consultation for Women: ‘Shaping a New Reality’ was the name of a 2nd National Consultation of WLHIV organized in New Delhi which focused on bringing about a multi-sectoral response to HIV. 105 WLHIV and 15 leaders from Indian Network for People Living with HIV in India (INP+) participated. As a result of the consultation meeting, the key government ministries had forced to take an active stand in HIV mainstreaming in their policies and programs.
2004 - AVAHAN Project: A project to strengthen PLHIV Networks to Advocate for Health and Work Place Issues funded by FHI &Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in six states (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland). The program helped to start an exclusive network of WLHIV in the states.
2006 - 1st National Consultation for Children: The 1st national consultation for children named ‘Joy N Joy’ with the support of UNICEF, was conducted as a platform to present and discuss the issues of children infected and affected by HIV. As an outcome of the consultation Pediatric ART was initiated and children were called to give inputs for NACPIII.
2005 - Enabling Environment for Spouses of HIV - Positive Drug Users in India: The project funded by UNODC was to create an enabling environment for spouses of HIV-positive drug users in 6 states; Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Manipur, Delhi, and Nagaland. The focus was on identifying the issues and needs of female partners of HIV-positive IDUs and the formation of an advocacy forum to tackle their issues and needs.
2006 - Social Light Communications (SLC): In 2006, as a part of their income-generating program, PWN+ started a business unit registered as ‘Social Light Communications’(SLC) in collaboration with The Population and Community Development Association (PDA) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The unit was established to provide comprehensive services in communication design and print production. Services of SLC include designing and printing brochures, calendars, folders, publications, booklets, posters, greeting cards, web design, and yearly planners and it took orders from APN+, SACS, UNDP regional office, etc. Singapore International Foundation and Catalyst Management services visited SLC and offered their technical guidance and expertise in relevant areas of functioning and shaping SLC. PWN+ continued the unit till the end of 2010. WE initiatives of PWN+ were started as a continuation of Social Light Communication supported by UNDP.
1. WE shop
WE shop was a handicraft shop run by dedicated members of PWN+ who purchased items from SHGs and women NGOs to sell them through its outlet. These materials were sold at corporate offices and also through stalls at conferences, melas, and exhibitions in various parts of Tamil Nadu.
2. WE textile
A Self Help Group (SHG) was organized under which established We Textile, a small unit for the sale of saree and dress materials in Villupuram. Later they were able to open an outlet named “Modern saree shop” using Rs.3, 25,000/- loan from the bank.
3. WE Farm
We Farm was a livelihood project of PWN+ run by the Tamil Nadu positive women’s Network (TPWN+). We farm generated income for women living with HIV, through organic farming in the 40 acres of land provided on lease by Suzlon Energy Systems in Radhapuram taluk of Thirunelveli district. The 3-year project ensured healthy food and regular income for women living with HIV and ‘Velicham’, an NGO took the initiative in training them in organic farming and also aided consultancy services for implementing the project.
2007 - Stop Violence Project: The Project funded UN Trust Fund through the UNIFEM aimed to increase awareness among positive women and their families about, the stigma and discrimination and the rights of women and children living with HIV.
2008 - Public Hearing for Promoting Treatment Access: The stigma and discrimination was major hindrance to accessing HIV treatment. With the support from Canadian embassy, PWN+ conducted a public hearing and 24 special case studies documented in 8 states. The documented cases were presented to a national public hearing attended by representatives from CEDAW, National Commission on Women, Canadian Embassy, and government representatives. These public hearings helped to reduce stigma and discrimination in the healthcare sector in the southern states.
2008 - 09 - Capacity Building for women living with HIV: The one-year capacity building project, partnered with Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), aimed to enhance the capacity of the district-level networks in networking, referral service, and advocacy for the benefit of women and children living with HIV in Villupuram and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.
2007 - 08 - State Team Empowerment Program (STEP) Project: With the support of the Netherlands Embassy, the one-year project’s aim was to form a network of women living with HIV in the district Rengareddy, Andhra Pradesh to advocate for the health and psycho-social needs of HIV positive women.
2006 - 09 - Monitoring and Promotion of Inclusive Policies and Programs: for WLHIV and CLHIV: The Christian Aid supported 3-year project documented the government programs and policies for women living with HIV (WLHIV) and Children living with HIV (CLHIV) at national and state level. The collected data helped raise awareness among WLHIV about the programs/policies and sensitize government officials to policy changes in favor of WLHIV and CLHIV.
2008 - Strengthening PWN+ and its State-level Networks: The 5-year project supported by The American Jurist World Service was to strengthen the national and state-level networks of PWN+. As a result, a regional center was established in Delhi and it also did actualize the state empowerment and services delivery.
2008 - Reduce Exclusion and Develop a Platform for Collective Action for Children and Parents living with HIV/AIDS: The project, supported by UNICEF for two and a half years provided a life skills program for children in 6 target states, and also established children advocacy groups, and a community-based comprehensive care and support model for children in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
2008 - 3rd National Consultations for Women: A 3-day consultation aimed to improve and involve HIV positive women and children in HIV program implementation. In continuation of the success of previous consultations, more international and local organizations; UNIFEM, UNDP, CANADIAN EMBASSY, APAC, Christian AID, Action Aid, and World Vision participated in this national consultation.
2011 - Property Ownership and Legal Literacy (POLL) Programme:
In partnership with Solidarity and Action Against the HIV Infection in India (SAATHII), PWN+ implemented the POLL program in 35 districts of 6 different states in India, to empower women living with HIV to effectively handle issues of denial of property rights and domestic violence. The project adopted a three-way approach: first, enhancement of knowledge, increasing access to legal aid sources, and building capacity of the community by forming and strengthening a coalition of advocates to fight for the rights of WLHIV.
2011 - 12 - Leadership Development Program for HIV Positive Women and Girls: UNDP supported project aimed train 25 selected HIV positive women on program management, advocacy, and the public health system to improve their knowledge and leadership quality. The two-phased trainings was held at Chennai and Delhi.
2009 - 13 - Reduction of Mother - to - Child Transmission of HIV in India– The project supported by European Union and Christian AID was to improve access and quality of PMTCT services and avail information about PMTCT among target populations in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The target beneficiaries were the pregnant women living with HIV and married WLHIV who are planning for pregnancy.
2009 - 12 - Education for All – Scope International and Info Tech supported PWN+ for four years in providing tuition fees for 250 children infected and affected with HIV in Chennai and neighboring states.
2012 - Women Treatment Friendly Model: with the support from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) the project aimed to the enhancement of ART adherence among women living with HIV in 4 districts; Churachampur and Imphal in Manipur, Nellore, and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. The program sought to emulate an innovative women’s treatment-friendly model focusing on women of reproductive age, who have recently initiated ART.
2012 - 13 Women’s Resource Centre: A pilot project supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Ajmer (Rajasthan) aimed to improve access to health, development, and social welfare services for women and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Women Resource Centre (WRC) acts as a link between the vulnerable WLHIV and the government. WRCs were solemnly run by the women living with HIV in both states and around 5517 people enrolled in these centers benefited from various services. Apart from the services on social security schemes, WRC gave referral services to comprehensive care, support and treatment; livelihood opportunities through SHG, PPTCT follow ups and psycho-social support to the women and their families.
2014 - National consultation for Adolescents living with HIV- National Consultation organized in New Delhi with the support of UNICEF aimed to give an opportunity to adolescents living with HIV to present their concerns and challenges and the recommendation framed from the findings of state-level consultations to policymakers and concerned stakeholders at the national level.
2012 - 14 - PLHIV Stigma Index and Consultation meetings in North East states of India: The project was in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland to determine the level of stigma and discrimination experienced by PLHIV, which would form the baseline to construct an evidence-based programme for minimizing stigma and its impact on the lives of PLHIV in the north-east. PLHIV Stigma Index tool along with a research protocol was developed and submitted to NACO. PWN+ also organized state-level consultations for Widows, Destitute, and Single women living with HIV in Nagaland and Mizoram to broaden the care, support, and treatment services to widows, destitute and single women living with HIV in the North East.
2015 - Community Monitoring Of HIV Program and Health Services: Partnering with the Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) started community monitoring on HIV programs and health services including the supply of ART, various OI medications, and other essential commodities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana and documented day to day availability of commodities and drugs and effect of drug shortage among people living with HIV.
2016 - Addressing the intersectionality of HIV and gender-based violence in HIV programs: PWN+ joined the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) in a Feasibility Study which assessed the feasibility of addressing gender-based violence in HIV programs. The ICRW team visited Chennai and Ajmer to do focus group discussions with staff and community members of PWN+.
2015 - 16 - Restoring Chennai: In partnership with the Centre for Advocacy and Research(CFAR) a project had done to measure the impact of the 2015 Chennai on HIV-positive people on ART and its adverse impact on the treatment adherence in Chennai and neighboring districts.
2016 - Training on Fundraising: PWN+ organized training on fundraising for its state-level networks with the support of UNAIDS. Ms. Usha Menon of Management Consultancy Asia was appointed as a Consultant by UNAIDS to train the women and develop a fundraising strategic plan for PWN+. The national-level training on resource mobilization was conducted at New Delhi for 17 WLHIV leaders from selected seven state chapters.
2017 - A Campaign on Primary Prevention to Protect Women from HIV: PWN+ in partnership with CSI Synod, Candle and various colleges in Chennai launched a campaign on International Women’s Day to create awareness about HIV/AIDS among people in different locations in Chennai.
2017- Matrathai Thaedi: An intervention programme for women living with HIV, who had severe side effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART). It was supported by the Tamizhsangam-Liverpool, London, Synergy Physiotherapy Centre, and Kuyilammal Trust, Chennai. 25 WLHIV with lipodystrophy (altered distribution of body fat) as a side effect of stavudine were selected and given support to reduce the toxicity of stavudine through, physiotherapy treatment, distribution of supplementary nutrition, and education on treatment and nutrition. The intervention helped the women to regain their health and shape of the body through physiotherapy and additional nutrition.
2018 - Treatment Literacy Programme In Art Centres: With the purpose to increase access to information and encourage treatment adherence, PWN+ has implemented a peer-led treatment literacy programme for women in the ART centers, in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Ajmer in Rajasthan. As part of the programme, the PWN+ has undertaken a research study on “Knowledge and Attitude towards Antiretroviral Therapy and Information on Adherence to ART and Side Effects of ART among Women.”
2017 - Income Generation Programme For WLHIV: Towards the economic empowerment of WLHA, PWN+, in coalition with Church of South India, Social Empowerment: Vision in Action (CSI SEVA) and Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF), initiated an income generation programme (IGP) to enable WLHA start an array of income generation activities (IGA) in line with market demands, by providing them micro-credits. 26 WLHIV, who was engaged with a range of microenterprises such as homemade biscuits sale, tailoring, setting up food stalls, cycle, and two-wheeler repair shops, ironing shops, textile sales, and selling of vegetables and pickles benefitted from the programme.
2018 - Talent Identification and Development Programme for Children: As a part of the Rotary Club of Chennai Carnatic “Vazhvoli” initiative, PWN+ conducted a programme to elicit, develop and appreciate the unique talents of CLHIV, between 11 and 18 years of age. Around 50 children were trained for a year by Famous storyteller Mr. Eric Edward Miller of the World Storytelling Institute in Chennai. The other significant objective of this programme is CLHIV, hence bringing about a positive change in their behaviours. Creative activities like drawing and creative writing are found to be therapeutic in nature, it helped children to enhance their emotional and psychological well-being by expressing their feelings, perceptions, and imaginations.
2018-DARE TO CARE – HIV Prevention Campaign
PWN+ organized the campaign in different places in Chennai to inform women at their reproductive age to understand HIV infection in the context of gender-based violence, which would enable them to make informed choices and decisions, protecting themselves against HIV and its consequences in their lifetime.