Action Service Hope for Aids (ASHA Foundation)
Action Service Hope for Aids (ASHA Foundation)
Not-for-profit
Year launched: 1998Approach
Target geography
Target Population
Target income level
- Bottom 20%
- Lower-middle income (20-40%)
- Middle-income (40-60%)
- Higher middle-income (60-80%)
Health focus
- Family planning and reproductive health
- HIV/AIDS
CHMI PLUS Status
Profile Completeness Rating
Monitoring & Evaluation Reporting
Summary
ASHA (Action, Service and Hope for AIDS) Foundation, established in 1998, is a charitable trust helping people infected with HIV/AIDS, their families and society as a whole through prevention, awareness, treatment, support, and rehabilitation of HIV-infected and affected persons.Key program components
ASHA's projects cover a vast range of pertinent issues. They include the imparting of value-based sexual education in the curricula of more than 185 schools, the promotion of child welfare through counseling, free medical and nutritional care, and the prevention of mother to child transmission of the HIV virus. A number of its services are described in more detail below.
The AIDS helpline and tele-counseling service:
The AIDS helpline and telephone counseling service was established in 1998. It is an automated system that provides information about HIV/AIDS in two languages - English and Kannada. Individuals wishing to seek advice can dial 1097, a toll-free number, to be connected to a counselor. From the date of inception, the helpline has received a total of 387,175 calls.
Adolescent Health Education (AHE):
The AHE program began in 1999 and introduces health education in schools for adolescents from 13-16 years of age. The program focuses on value-based education and incorporates life skills education, responsible behavioral choices, character development, and the dissemination of information on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Care and Support Services for Children at Risk (KNH-CAR Project):
One of the tragedies of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the impact that it has on children. Most children under 15 are infected through their mothers, blood transfusions, intravenous drug abuse, or sexual abuse. The aim of this service is to improve the living conditions and prolong the life span of children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and their families by providing access to education, nutrition and health services, and by improving their socio-economic status. This service has four components:
(1) An Integrated Counseling and Testing Center
(2) HIV/AIDS clinic
(3) Financial assistance in educating children of HIV positive parents
(4) Women's networks for training programs, job placements and legal help.
Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Infection (PMTCT):
Started by ASHA in 2002, this initiative seeks to integrate PMTCT services into maternity care programmes in three medical institutions in Bangalore. The program includes training of PMTCT counselors, their introduction into antenatal clinics, voluntary and free HIV testing for pregnant mothers, pre- and post- test counseling, family planning, identification of HIV positive pregnant mothers and the provision of additional counseling in order to help them make informed choices regarding ARV therapy, mode of delivery, mode of infant feeding, HIV testing for the newborn child and their eventual integration into the medical and pediatric clinics of the Institution.