HIV and AIDS Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support for Women who Inject Drugs and for Women Prisoners in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan - Phase II

Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan

The project built on a successful joint OFID/UNODC initiative aimed to fill a fundamental gap in national responses on HIV prevention treatment and care with respect to the Women who Use Drugs (WUD) and women in prisons in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan. Its main objectives were to address the remaining gaps in the national responses and ensure the sustainability of ongoing interventions UNODC utilized its strong existing relationships with the national governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal. One important achievement involved the closer collaboration between law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations. The project teams were an integral part of the Global UNODC HIV/AIDS programme, participating in the monthly global conference calls, where staff from different parts of the world share experiences and lessons learnt with colleagues to address similar bottle necks in programme implementation and in overcoming technical issues. The project was also supported by the thematic experts, monitoring and evaluation and portfolio management based in Vienna, on a regular basis virtually and through missions to the countries. The project teams were a member of the UN Joint team on AIDS and all relevant technical teams at the country level which enabled better coordination and cooperation with other sister agencies, in particular with UNAIDS. in addition to other governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. In Nepal: In partnership with the Government, initiated gender specific program for women who use drugs and expanded the services for female prisoners. This is the first of its kind in South Asia. The project was noted successful in brokering an honest partnership among the Government of Nepal, civil society organizations and prison officials and community. This, in turn, has not only laid a firm foundation for initiating new programmes in this sector but also to expand its reach and improve its effectiveness. The UNODC with 3 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and 2 networks of women who use drugs implemented the activities in 5 districts. The project supported 3 Drop-In-Centres (DICs) which have, in turn, provided services to about 300 WUDs (new identified during the reporting period). Training for law enforcement officials on HIV service provision for 25 law enforcement officials from 25 districts was organised in Pokhara. The training was based on the toolkit developed by UNODC and engaged civil society members and police officials as experts for the training. In Pakistan: Established in the women’s prisons of Karachi and Hyderabad which are the two HIV high-burden cities of Sindh province in Pakistan in addition to the community in Karachi. UNODC organized linkages between the Provincial AIDS Control Programme (PACP), including implementing partner organizations and the prison staff. To this end, UNODC hosted a training for the provincial health, prison departments, and other key stakeholders (UNAIDS, WHO, Anti-narcotics Force, Social Welfare Department, Provincial AIDS Control Programme and CSOs). This training provided a forum to discuss existing HIV prevention strategies and acknowledge barriers faced by women who use drugs and women in prisons. Approximately 443 women were registered for services in the prisons of Karachi and Hyderabad during the project duration. In Afghanistan: UNODC provided technical assistance to the National AIDS Control Programme and Ministry of Public Health in developing the National Strategic Plan (2016-2020) and in revising HIV/AIDS and harm reduction related national policies, strategies and guidelines. In addition to its 39 prisons (of which only 4 are female prisons), Afghanistan has 337 detention centers distributed all over regions and districts where male and female offenders and/or suspects can be kept for up to 72 hours. In prisons, there is a lack of standard buildings and clean drinking water, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation.