Interact Worldwide in Asia
DISCRIMINATION OF MARGNALISED PEOPLE
The Asian countries where we work face many of the same health problems as in the African countries. Early marriage, gender-based violence, and low status of women in society place women at high risk of HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality, and other negative SRH outcomes. Criminalisation of same-sex intercourse and stigma and discrimination put these groups at increased risk as well:
- Males who have sex with males
- Injecting drug users
- Sex workers.
HIV cases in Asia are relatively low compared to those in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are mostly concentrated among groups participating in high risk behaviours. However, socio-economic and cultural factors, if not effectively addressed, could cause HIV to rapidly spread.
INTERACT WORLDWIDE IN ASIA
Through our programming in Asia, Interact Worldwide builds partners' capacity to provide information and harm reduction services to particularly vulnerable groups such as sex workers, transgenders, mobile populations (e.g. truck drivers, road workers), and injecting drug users, and to empower them to advocate for their own rights. We also support work with refugees, women and street children, who are at great risk of abuse, HIV/AIDS and other negative SRH outcomes.
Gender Inequality
Poor health systems and restricted mobility of women result in inadequate and often inaccessible SRH services in some areas (particularly remote rural parts) to those that need them most. Interact Worldwide assists partners in improving the quality of S&R services, empowering women to access those services, and sensitising communities and decision-makers on SRH&R issues.Women's empowerment and capacity building of local organisations are cross-cutting themes of all activities in the region. In order to facilitate knowledge-sharing and increased resources and skills within the region, we often contract organisations from within Asia to provide any necessary technical assistance to our partners.
Please click on the below links to read more about some of our current projects in Asia:
In Pakistan:
Tackling HIV/AIDS among vulnerable communities in Sindh, Pakistan
Building up rights based approaches to HIV and AIDS in Pakistan
Multi-country projects:The Community Score Card Project
