REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON HIV

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REGIONAL WORKSHOPON HIV AIDS and VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS11-13 MARCH 2009CAPETOWN

• By NATIONAL HIV AIDS COORDINATION OFFICER-NAC

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Outline of Presentation

• HIV AIDS Profile in Lesotho
• NSP goals, strategic objectives, progress,
  Challenges way-forward on vulnerable Populations
  in Lesotho
• Commercial Sex Workers
• Prison Inmates

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HIV AIDS profile in Lesotho

• National HIV AIDS Prevalence-23.2
• Generalised epidemic in Lesotho
• Establishment of NAC in 2005 to provide strategic
  policy guidance to the multi-sectoral response to
  HIV AIDS
• Review process of the HIV AIDS policy
  strategic plan-2000-2004 in 2005
• Development of the revised HIV AIDS Policy and
  NSP-2006-2011 in 2005.
• Mid-term review of the NSP ongoing.

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NSP Goals on vulnerable groups

• Reduced Vulnerability to HIV infection and impact
  of HIV AIDS among inmates in correctional
  services.
• Reduced Vulnerability to HIV infection and
  reduced Impact of HIV AIDS among sex workers

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NSP Objectives on vulnerable groups

• To provide appropriate HIV and AIDS services to
  inmates at correctional services.
• To provide appropriate HIV AIDS services to
  male female sex workers

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Progress on vulnerable groups continued

• HIV AIDS Correctional Services policy
  development Commenced in 2008 continuing.
• HIV AIDS sectoral plan on inmates to follow on
  completion on policy development.
• Small scale research on situational analysis on
  commercial sex workers conducted by CSOs.
• Scale HIV AIDS programmes on commercial sex
  workers initiated by CSOs e.g. CARE-Lesotho,
  Seventh Day Adventist Church etc

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Challenges on vulnerable groups Continued

• Slow procurement of services for the development
  of correctional services HIV AIDS
  policy-institutional bottlenecks.
• Inadequate HIV AIDS programming on commercial
  sex workers.
• Inadequate geographical coverage of HIV AIDS
  programmes for commercial sex workers.
• Lack of recognition for commercial sex work by
  national legal instruments.

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Recommended way-forward

• Simplifying procurement procedures to be
  favourable to procurement of services.
• Inclusion of other vulnerable groups in our NSP
  e.g. MSMs, etc
• Increasing the geographical coverage of
  commercial sex worker interventions.
• Advocating for legalization of commercial sex
  work.

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• Thank you for your attention !!