THE PREVALENCE of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV among female sex workers here has shown significant reduction in 2003 from the baseline levels of a 2000 study.
This is thanks to early awareness initiatives and resultant change in behaviour pattern of high risk groups, says the recently concluded study.
The study was conducted jointly by Jyoti Sangh, a women’s organisation, and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation AIDS Control Society. Technical assistance was provided by Sexual Health Research Centre, New Delhi, and the study was funded by the British High Commission’s Department for International Development.
‘‘The study will be repeated after two to three years to see the impact of the intervention targetted at sex workers in the city,’’ said Dr Laxman Malodia, project director of AMCACS, adding, that there can be no room for complacency as the number of HIV cases could still be high due to addition of newer cases each year.
He said reaching out to the target audience would not have been possible without active police support. ‘‘Controlling prostitution and controlling HIV among sex workers are two opposite-end exercises; if one is achieved, the other can’t be. If the polices conduct raids, prostitutes disappear and cannot be helped by AIDS control societies. So the co-operation of police is essential,’’ he said.
According to Dr D M Saxena, director of Gujarat State AIDS Control Society, Surat with its variety of migrant population, tops the list of cities in Gujarat in terms of HIV and STI prevalence. Prevalence in Ahmedabad and Vadodara are about the same.
Both Saxena and Malodia say that the number of AIDS cases per se would not go down but the incidence could well be controlled with the help of effective preventive measures like condom promotion.
‘‘The HIV positive state is irreversible but we can hope to check its prevalence through effecting change in behaviour patterns by creating awareness among target groups,’’ said Saxena.
As per findings of HIV sero-surveillance data over the years, HIV prevalence in the city noted in 2000 was 0.5 per cent among ante natal women who came to clinics and it fell to 0.25 per cent in 2004. In 2000, the HIV prevalence in those who attended STI clinics was 7.2 per cent and it declined to 4.3 per cent in 2004, the study notes.
The study also notes significant change in sexual behaviour among sex workers and increase in safe sex practices among them and their clients. It says that 27.1 per cent CSWs had sex with less than two partners per day in 2000 and this number went up to 39.7 per cent in 2004. As many as 41.4 per cent CSWs had sex with two to five partners daily in 2000 and this came down to 36.9 per cent in 2004. Also, there is a significant drop in CSWs having sex with more than five partners per day. It was 30.2 per cent in 2000 and fell to 23.4 per cent in 2004, the study reveals.
Percentage of those using condoms regularly has gone up from 32 per cent in 2000 to 79 per cent in 2004, it says.