AEGiS-14IAC: Project experience on knowledge attitude, behavior and awareness programme in the prisoners, Pakistan.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Project experience on knowledge attitude, behavior and awareness programme in the prisoners, Pakistan.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11443)

Khan KM
NGO, Mohib-e-Watan Welfare Organization of Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

ISSUE: Pakistan is a low prevalence but very high-risk country as far as the HIV/AIDS transmission and spread is concerned. The vulnerable high-risk groups have very high-risk behaviors due to lack of awareness, poor literacy rate, and poor quality of medical facilities and low given priority level to the work of HIV/AIDS by GOs and NGOs. The situation of Prisoners is very critical and alarming in Pakistan due to many reasons. Very little importance is given to prisoners, as one of the vulnerable groups and one of the reasons for this is that access to this group is very difficult. A project was launched in Central Prison Rawalpindi for Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior and Awareness Program for the Prisoners. v

DESCRIPTION: A project was launched in the prison to work closely with the 4226 male 117 female and 137 children prisoners and 260 prison staff. Apart from KABA the objectives were also to identify peer educators from the jail inmates, to conduct a pre and post project survey, to distribute IEC material, to arrange training workshops for the selected peer educators and to motivate them for proper condom use. v

ISSUES: The lessons from the project were very informative and useful not for our organization but also for many other GOs and NGOs interested in working in prisons. The process adopted by the team to involve the staff and prisoners has many sweet and bitter lessons in it. The project proved to be a great success in achieving the objectives. v RECOMMENDATIONS. .It is strongly recommended that the developing countries esp. with high-risk behaviors must work very closely with para-medical and medical staff of the prisoners and the peer educators strategy is very useful otherwise the epidemic will explode in the poor counties like Pakistan where a small amount is allocated in annual national budgets for health sector and where all high risk behaviors are existing and where prisoners are the most neglected vulnerable group.

Keywords: AEGIS, Prisoners, Prisons, Knowledge, Attitude, Prevalence, Awareness, HIV Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seropositivity, Social Behavior, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Organizations, Pakistan, Developing Countries, Child, Female, Male

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E11443