Women Empowerment
 

Background
 

GAP and AIA have organized very successful project of the Multiplex Mobile Medical Unit during 2007 to 2009 in 20 villages of the Prantij Taluka Dist. Sabarkantha supported by AIA.  Aer evaluation of the project, GAP felt that more village’s should be undertaken where women should be empowered for reproductive and sexual health education strengthening referral services toward “Reproductive Tract Infection and Sexually Transmitted Infection” problem. GAP has realized the needs of program on prevention of mother to child HIV transmission in backward villages and source areas of migration.

Objective
 

To increase the level of understanding of transmission of HIV from parent to child in the rural women.
 

Baseline study
 

Ten villages of Modasa area was selected for baseline study.  With the help of trained Anganwadi and ASHA workers, 89 pregnant women, 97 breast-feeding women, 150 married women,119 unmarried young girls, 47 widows and women of age group 15 to 45 years totaling 502 were interviewed. Women in the society, especially their social and economic situation including the knowledge of health-related subjects. We found that they had very little understanding of HIV-AIDS and other health issues.  Mostly Pregnant women were also not tested for HIV. We have observed high level of stigma and discrimination in family and medical professionals too.