Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Crucial Role Of Local NGOs

By Jhabindra Bhandari

APART from the growing challenges of poverty and illiteracy, most of the developing countries are acutely facing the serious problems of public health. One of the most dangerous diseases that the killing millions of people worldwide every year is HIV/AIDS. In our country, the increasing migration, open border, drug addiction, girl trafficking and prostitutions have made the problem of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS even worse. Despite several efforts in prevention and care, the problem is rapidly growing. Most importantly, there is no cure for AIDS yet and the problem is still on the rise.

Awareness

Most of the NGOs, with support from external development partners are focusing on awareness raising programmes in order to reduce the risk of HIV infection among high risk populations through education and promotion of safer sexual and drug using behaviour. Undertaking advocacy at all levels to sensitise the urgency of prevention and care efforts have been effective for local response. This has positively changed the attitude of policy makers, planners, NGO activists and social workers to think that HIV/AIDS is a development problem and this is beyond the public health issue. Rather it is a very difficult and complex social problem.

At the local level, District AIDS Coordination Committees (DACC) have to play an important role in mobilizing local resources in prevention and care efforts. In fact, a few of these committees are quite active where local NGOs are implementing HIV/AIDS programmes. In Morang district, for an example the DACC is continuously operating to launch HIV/AIDS prevention programmes at the village and community levels. Most importantly, the Village Development Committee (VDCs) are also mobilising local resources to raise massive awareness on HIV/AIDS.

In the fat west region of the country, migration and open border have fueled the spread of the problems of drug addictions, STDs and HIV/AIDS. "The DACC should play a lead role to facilitate local NGOs in planning and implementation of community-based awareness raising programmes on drug addiction and HIV/AIDS. Looking at the increasing trend of drug addicts, we are further planning for local resource mobilisation to open a rehabilitation center for drug addicts in the deistrict" says Harihar Sharma Chief District Officer, and chairperson of DACC in Kanchanpur.

The institutional capacity building of the DACC is an important priority to localise the national response. This is why the local NGOs are always trying hard to strengthen the DACC so that the issues of HIV/AIDS could be mainsteamed in community development programmes for better impacts. Moreover, this is one of the innovative strategies for continuity and sustainability of the programmes.

Capacity building of local NGOs in participatory planning and management of HIV/AIDS programmes is the foremost challenge ahead. Particularly, training to partners NGOs in communication and counseling skills in STDs and HIV/AIDS, peer education, condom promotion, and behaviour change issues are extremely important. Reaching high risk populations with the clear communication of HIV/AIDS problem, its mode of transmission and the ways of avoiding infection is the need of the hour. In this regards, establishment of drop-in-centers has offered an imporant opportunity for people to share and learn more about safer sex and consequences of the drug addition and HIV infection.
Local NGOs are largely focusing on awareness raising programmes through social mobilisation in the communities. People at high risk are gradually empowered for safer sex and STD care seeking behaviour. With the massive condom promotion and Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns, the vulnerability to HIV infection has greatly reduced in the communities" says Nir Wagle, Project Coordinator of General Welfare Pratishthan (GWP). The GWP in the mid and far west is particularly targeting transport workers, migrants, hoteliers in the highway region for their active participation in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Peer education has been very effective to educate community people about STDs and HIV/AIDS. Local NGOs are developing peer educators so that details of HIV/AIDS issues can be well communicated for behaviour change. In a society like ours where HIV/AIDS is narrowly perceived as a problem of only a few section of people, there exists social discrimination and stigma attached to it.
The stigma and discrimination have undermined prevention, care and treatment efforts and increase the negative socio-economic impacts on individuals, families and communities. The successful response to HIV/AIDS have been built on respect for human rights, dignity of those affected, and social solidarity. Therefore, practical strategies of reducing stigma and discrimination to people living with HIV/AIDS in the society should be one of the integral parts of prevention and care. Much more has to be done collectively to reduce the increasing burden of HIV/AIDS problem in the country. National Center for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) is the only co-ordinating body at national level to formulate policies and strategies in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. With support from external development partners, the NCASC is steadily progressing to develop long term strategic plans for HIV/AIDS programme. Strengthening STD services for quality care at sub health post, health post, primary health care centers and district hospitals is an emerging priority.

Commitment

To be true, the achievements of prevention efforts are still limited as there lacks effective coordination and networking among local NGOs and INGOs who are actively involved in prevention and care activities. The NCASC has to lead proactively in order to create an enabling environment for effective partnership with NGOs and private sectors in planning and management of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. As this is a multi-sectoral issue, strong political will and commitment can make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Can We Juxtapose Environment And Development?

By Bidya Nath Bhattarai

FROM the very beginning stage of anthropogenic activities people used to consume the available resources to fulfill their daily needs. Even in the Stone Age, people used weapons made up of woods, stones, bones for the hunting purpose. They used forest area nearby fresh water flow for shelter and food stock purpose. These activities of human being, latter on called as development actions, have been performed for the moving parts of civilisation. Every refined shape of modern and post modern civilisations is escorted by development activities. But these achievements by the society could not consider the side effects on the nature or on the environment. Human beings are enjoying the development though these are exclusive outcome of environmental components' sacrifice. But why and to whom the environment is sacrificing its components? Is environment for the human beings only?

The sensitisation on the environmental degradation has been increased in last five decades. Basically when we talk about the dreadful conditions of environment, it should be judged on the pace of industrialisation, Mechanisation and Urbanisation of the today's developed economy. They have now too many infrastructural amenities, hi-tech pyramid and dominant heap of imported resources which are being named and utilised as a result of development. It is clear from the binding and non-binding outcomes of environmental conventions that developed countries are more responsible for the  environmental degradation through the disturbances imputes in smooth flow of ecosystem. Even the marine ecosystem and various biomes have been rapidly destroyed through the development oriented anthropogenic activities. Social scientists, development thinkers, and research analyser bow to the public which were previously suppressed by dogmatic way of thinking and research in developed country. After the massive deterioration of environment in the glove, environmental development slogan has been raised from the Stockholm conference onwards. That means development practices should incorporate environment aspects too. The main theme of this environment imbedded development policy is to minimize the negative impacts of development to the environment so that biotic factors get fewer sufferers from the deterioration. To minimize these activities some tools, revolve around the project cycle, have been emerged for both preventive and curative assessments before and/or after the implementation of any projects. Implementation of these should not be guided by the monetised value of the total projects but must be universal. The small monetised valued projects can also cause menace to the biotic factors.

In developed country, at the very beginning of development activities there were high rate of exploitation of environmental resources. From this they not only get early industrial stage but also capture the running post industrial stage. But now-a-days they have shortage of fundamental resources for their basic needs. The globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation development paradigm has been imposed in the world so that they can easily capture the remaining resources from the world. Swallowing the nationalism is globalism. So patriotionomist always prefer the first one.
Nepal, having high biodiversity is also not far from the global environmental impacts. It is victimized by the rapid development upgrade activities of the glove. These negative effects on the Nepalese economy should be properly reshaped and recovered through the fluctuations of both macro and micro environmental components, which shaped the environmental welfare for general Nepalese people. Nepal's unique biodiversity and vast water resources can be twisted towards the countries environmental oriented prosperous. Most of the development efforts of Nepalese planning are not aware on the sustainability aspects because most of the veteran planners are far from the environmental terminology and its pivoting role to longevity of the schemes. In the first planned period onwards some environmental friendly components has been included in every policy formulation. But these are included completely unknowingly. In eighth planned period massive change occurred due to the Rio Summit. Separate government units were created to perform environmental roles, responsibilities, accountability and even for policy formulation. Before there was no room for the environmental aspect. Even the gigantic multilateral projects are also not able to include the environmental components along with the engineering aspects. The silting problems of Sundari-Morang irrigation projects, non-compensatory approach for the loss of biotic and abiotic factors along the transmission line of electricity, socio economic disturbances on pleasant-sounding community, which eventually weakens the potential social capital, by the resettlement action-plan decided on the behalf of project implementer. Unmanaged growths of semi-urban, unmanaged disposal of industrial effluents are the some blistering problems in the our country. So the Nepalese planners should think about the key factors which create rapid environment degradation due to imbalance natural resources utilisation policies. These may be the water, forest, mineral, soil and non forest timber product. But negative impacts of transboundry environmental components such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, can only be managed by (all countries) effective utilisation of the binding instruments ratified by the international conventions, protocols and commitments in the summit. The internal problems of environmental degradation can be restored with the proper absorptive policies to the local level such as policy of small land afforestation, adoption of cleaner production method even in small industries, application of bioengineering for the anti-land degradation in prone area, increasing the environmental awareness to the local people.

In Rio Summit all the aspects of environment and development were thoroughly discussed, tabulated and even ratified by some countries. But it is well-known that the implementation aspect of the Rio Summit becomes weak. The victimised small countries should take care for the implementation of the Rio Summit. Let's hope results of Johannesberg Summit would reevaluate and review the implementation aspects of agenda 21 of Rio Summit 1992. Latest WTO concentration on environment and trade which emphasise on biodiversity is also a harbinger for the world consensus on the environment degradation.

Bio-Engineering In Road Works

By Sarad Shrestha

THE application of bio-engineering is very essential in the road sector of our nation. It is the use of vegetation in civil engineering. This engineering is applied for slope protection and stabilisation. It is playing major role in the stability of many slopes. Other civil engineering techniques are required to make its use effective.

Bio- engineering should be used as a normal activity of road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance works. Now-a-days, its use has become wide in the road sector. It has been introduced as an activity in road works as engineering is a high risk activity in the Himalayas and all known steps must be applied to meet the problems. It is relatively low in cost and the materials and skills are all available in remote areas also. Bio- engineering systems act in the same way as civil engineering systems ie, carrying out the same functions. The engineering functions performed are common to both. It cannot stabilise deep-seated landslides. It is commonly applied in combination with civil structures. It increases the scope of works.

The techniques are required to be used on a routine basis to protect and stabilise slopes and protect costly civil structures. The main sites for their uses are bare soil areas, slopes where there is a risk of shallow failure and gullying, slope components where other civil engineering structures are used and rehabilitation areas such as quarry or camp compounds etc.

In bare soil areas, bio- engineering measures can be employed to prevent erosion. In gullying, the techniques are used to armour the slope. For the risk of shallow failure, the measures are required which can catch material, reinforce the soil and anchor the surface layers. Such steps can also help to drain the slope. In case of slope components, bio- engineering techniques are applied in combination with other engineering works, usually to catch debris, armour and reinforce the surface beween inert structures or improve slope support. Lastly for rehabilitation areas, vegetation is normally employed to armour and reinforce the soil. It can also be used to catch loose debris and drain excess runoff safely or properly. The techniques are required to be carried out with due precision, attention and care as well.

After the implementation of bio- engineering programme on site, we need a large number of good plants of the right species in a short space of time. In Nepal, it is normal to plant during the early months of the monsoon rains. But it is better to raise the plants in a nursery for adequate high quality stocks. The programme needs a range of different plants in different forms. The most common methods of plant production in the road sector are multiplication of grasses by slip cuttings and production of shrub and tree seedlings in polypots. Vegetation provides benefits such as environmental improvement, provision of useful products by plants and limitation of the lateral extent of instability. These benefits can not be achieved from civil engineering.

A long term maintenance is required for vegetation on roadsides in order to derive the maximum benefits in respect of bio-engineering contribution, productivity and appearance. Some particular needs for bio- engineering are specific to the road sector. The management of vegetation is part of roadside maintenance. Bio- engineering maintenance activities are routine and preventive involving site protection, weeding, mulching, grass cutting, watering, thinning of shrubs and trees, repair of vegetation structures, vegetation enrichment and removal of shrubs and trees.

Thus it can be implied that bio- engineering techniques should be carried out as a normal part of road construction, rehabilitation and maintenance activities with due care and attention as such measures are responsible for the enhancement of road life and good environment. Also the guidelines such as slope angle, material drainage, site moisture, slope length and optimal techniques are essential to be taken into deep consideration while applying the techniques mentioned above because in the present context, this use of engineering is taken as an economical measure for road safety and preservance mainly in hilly areas which are prone to landslides.