India HIV/AIDS Alliance is organising a one-day conference to discuss ways to mitigate the impact of AIDS in the country. The event will be organised on November 12, to commemorate the closure of the  CHAHA, a child-centred care and support programme for families and communities.  The event is organised taking into consideration the urgent need to provide a continuum of care to children affected by AIDS as a core element in India.

CHAHA programme was launched in July 2007 and has influenced people’s life in many ways. This expanded child centred home and community-based care and support project was implemented with funding from Round 6 of the Global Fund to Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the India HIV/AIDS Alliance, as a civil society principal recipient, and its consortium of eight sub-recipients.

The programme was envisaged to cater to the needs of children and families affected by AIDS/HIV so that they can be provided with support and an enabling environment to minimise the impact of HIV. Although successful and still undoubtedly needed, the programme will end in March 2011.

The conference will be dedicated to listening to children, caregivers and civil society representatives. The overall goal of the conference is to create awareness on HIV and reduce the HIV related morbidity and mortality among children and their family and also to address the impact of HIV on children.

In line with the strategic priorities of the National AIDS Control Programme III, CHAHA works in 40 districts with partners in four high prevalence states ie Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to increase access to services for children living with HIV and for children living in families affected by HIV and AIDS. CHAHA is the only large-scale national care and support programme for children affected by HIV in India.

During the meeting, interactions between children and caregivers will highlight the need to continue and scale up care and support programming for children and families affected by AIDS. They will share lessons from CHAHA and advocate for a sustainable child-centred care and support programme within the national programme, both now and in the future. The event will be attended by Government representatives from National AIDS Control Organisation NACO, UNICEF, and civil society organisations.