Abstinence-Based Approach Brings Down HIV Rates in Kashmir

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Abstinence-Based Approach Brings Down HIV Rates in KashmirTuesday, October 07, 2008By Baba Umar

Muslim clerics attend an HIV-AIDS seminar in Srinagar, Kashmir (Photo: Abid Bhat)

Srinagar, India (CNSNews.com) – Following a Uganda-based model in their fight against HIV-AIDS, public health authorities in the Indian-administered portion of mostly Muslim Kashmir have been successful in bringing down infections in high risk groups. The Ugandan program, which places priority on abstinence and being loyal to one partner, is regarded by officials in the Indian region – Jammu and Kashmir state – as "one of the only national missions ever to have efficiently fought the contagious disease," said Muhammad Amin Wani, director of the Jammu and Kashmir AIDS Prevention and Control Society (JKAPCS). "It worked in Uganda, Senegal and Ghana and it is showing positive results here too," he said. JKAPCS began following the African country model in 2006 and since then has employed and trained nearly 840 clerics across the region to spread the anti-AIDS message, with mosques and seminaries at the forefront of the campaign. "Belief plays a big role in molding the behavior of a person and we have effectively used it in our campaign," Wani said, adding that Kashmir is the first Indian state to have employed such a program. A new JKAPCS survey has found that the mass awareness campaign has resulted in a drop of HIV infections of 0.3 per cent in high risk groups and 0.02 per cent among the state's general population. Independent research conducted by a Jammu-based clinical immunologist, Anil Mahajan, found that the major affected groups in the state are Indian security personnel, migrant laborers and truck drivers. The fresh results have pushed the state-funded agency to hold talks with Sikh, Hindu and Christian priests to draw them into the program. The African program is known as "ABC" – abstinence, being faithful, and condom use. Islamic preachers in Kashmir say that they discuss the problem of promiscuity in their sermons, but do not talk about the use of contraceptives. "Instead we always stress on the abstinence, morality, and marriage, which is the best institution," said the state's head cleric, Mufti Bashir-ud-Din. At least 38 people have died of AIDS in Jammu-Kashmir over the last decade. Infection rates among high-risk groups stands at 0.95 per cent, and among low-risk groups at 0.03 percent. "Most HIV infected are in the age group 15 to 45, with 65 percent male and 35 percent female, a majority of who come from urban areas of the state," said community health officer, Munir Ahmed. The figures are low when compared to neighboring areas, and the Kashmir experiment seems to have inspired other large organizations. In July, the Indian National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) decided to adopt a similar approach to curb HIV-AIDS rates in India, where infections have exceeded the 5.7 million mark. NACO announced a drive aimed at "fighting AIDS with values, not condoms" and said it was launching a life-skill education program for youngsters focusing on being loyal to one's partner and abstinence.

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