More than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired everyday worldwide, the majority of which are asymptomatic.

Why this area?:

There cannot be well-being without addressing the gaps, needs, and challenges around Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) for the marginalised. Our SRHR initiatives empower adolescent girls, women, and sexual minorities to protect their health. 

Our work in SRHR was borne out of our partnerships with communities which are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. We now concentrate on making everyday well-being a reality for them, partnering with the communities in building leadership, and amplifying their voice. 

What we have done:

Our lessons in transforming lives of women in sex work through their community institutions, started with with Swathi Mahila Sangha (SMS) in 2005, and was scaled to 87 community organisations as part of Gates Foundation’s Indian AIDS initiative, Avahan III. This effort impacted the lives of 121,000 people at risk of HIV, and improved their financial and social protection. 

We are proud to be the National Secretariat for Taaras (meaning rapid progress) since 2016. Taaras, a coalition of women in sex work and their organizations, provides a platform for their voices, aspirations and joint actions; rising above ideologies, geography, cultural, and language divisions. 

Over the years, we have partnered with community and civil society organisations in capacity building, resource mobilisation, advocacy, and institutional development for SRHR. We have designed and developed programmes, raised and managed finances, and monitored and evaluated services in SRHR for governments and development partners.

We developed monitoring and evaluation guidelines to improve the effectiveness of rural HIV intervention, provided technical support, and built capacities of 370 organisations in eight countries to mobilise resources that deliver family planning services. We ensured comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services to the affected children, and family members in 40,000 households in India.

In addressing the complex problems in SRHR, we have innovated with technology, leveraged government partnerships, and designed financial inclusion models.

Android-based decision support systems have improved the quality of antenatal care in rural Karnataka. Partnerships with the local government have facilitated inclusion of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) in local government decisions to reduce the stigma against HIV positive persons in villages; and a model of community-managed co-operative of women in sex work, formed in 2007, has disbursed INR 2 million as credit in its first 10 years.