Recipient Institution:
SAATHII (Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India)

Project Leader:
Dr. L. Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., Country Director (Programmes and Research)

Amount: US$ 29,786

Abstract of Project
Development problem and Needs to be Addressed: With a recently estimated 5.1 million people infected by HIV in 2004, India accounts for 60% of the epidemic in South Asia. A nationwide needs assessment survey conducted by SAATHII indicate that while over 1200 agencies are attempting to respond to the crisis, the following problems impede their ability in delivering quality services.

Needs to be addressed: (i) Lack of capacity-building training programmes using ICT that can reach a larger number of organizations that are not feasible through conventional methods, (ii) Dearth of quality electronic forums that can facilitate networking, sharing of knowledge and best practices in a cost-effective manner among individuals and organizations working on HIV/AIDS in India, (iii) Inadequate access to electronic resources tailored to the needs of various HIV/AIDS organizations.

Proposed solutions and technologies: SAATHII proposes to develop an Electronic Resource Centre on HIV/AIDS in India which will address these critical needs through (i) E-training programmes on various issues of HIV/AIDS (education, prevention, care, support and treatment) using web and e-mail- based content delivery, exercises, evaluation and electronic conferencing to reach large number of NGOs working in rural- and semi-urban areas on ongoing basis (ii) Interactive E-forums dedicated to the exchange of information and best-practices on various issues of HIV/AIDS archived to online databases for disseminating time sensitive scientific updates on real time basis and also to provide ongoing technical assistance which are not feasible using conventional methods, and (iii) E-support tailored to organizations' specific resource needs through the development of issue specific support centres and creating linkages among NGOs, positive groups, donor agencies and international organizations.

Expected results: We expect measurable improvement in three factors (i) knowledge and skills of participating organizations and individuals, (ii) access to informational resources, and (iii) quality service delivery. These will be assessed by quantitative and qualitative analyses, and constitute core determinants of an enhanced response to the fight against HIV/AIDS in India. The Research component of this project will allow us to investigate the efficacy of ICT-enabled capacity building as compared to conventional means, and yield a model than can be scaled up nationally, and replicated in other resource-constrained settings.