ID: HR19-973

Presenting author: Rishi Raj Ojha

Presenting author biography:

Rishi Raj Ojha is a social worker who has been working in the field of drugs harm reduction and HIV/AIDS as well as mental health sector in Nepal for 25 years.Professionally Mr. Oha is health worker and hold an advanced degree in Drug management from Japan.

Advocacy for condom promotion activity in Harm Reduction, Prison setting, Nepal

Rishi Raj Ojha

Issue- Majority of prisoners imprisoned due to drugs related activities and most of them are (IDUs in prisons. IDUs inmates are suffering from HIV infection, Hepatitis B & C and many others health related problems etc. Similarly, they are also involving unsafe sexual activity in directly in prison. Prisoners are demanded for condom but we cannot provide due to existing policy. Therefore, prisoners are more vulnerable for transmission of HIV and STIs.

Setting- Central prison in province 3 of Kathmandu, Nepal is only one biggest prison where more than 2000 prisoners are residing and highly turnover of prison populations.

Key arguments: Unsafe sexual practice in prison is high. We have found out this issue from implementation of BCC activities were conducted by peer educators. We informed to Prison administration to need of condom to prisoners but they ignored for the issues that is existing in the prison. Due to current policy to prohibit condom distribution inside prisons. Therefore, we conducted national to district level advocacy to policy makers, planers and concerned stakeholders in the need of condom promotion activity in prisons and recommended to revise the policy as per demand of existing situation of prisoners.

Outcomes and implications: Since 2004, we have been advocating and sensitizing in the issues of HR program targeted to prisoners and we did more than 300 different types of advocacy events from national to local level administrations. However, we were able to influenced the government to allow us to establish condom distribution outlet in health clinic of prisons where we can also able to educate them in the issues of HR. Therefore, this is our one of the best achievement and an innovative approach to harm reduction in Asian cultures if our advocacy ties are strong to influence in policy level respectively.