Suchergebnisse

At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the international community declared sustainable development to be the new guiding principle for the twenty-first century. This was followed in the late 1990s by a resolution that every country should develop a national sustainability strategy by the year 2002. This was to be updated in the following years (continuous development). It was clear that sustainable development is a long range process for individual countries like India. This paper begins with a discussion of the general requirements to be addressed by a national sustainability strategy. It goes on to discuss the Indian national sustainability strategy as an example of how these can be properly integrated. In this regard, the fact must be taken into account that since 1991 the Indian economy - as measured by GDP - has been very successful. However, as a performance measure, pure economic success is inadequate in the context of a national sustainability strategy. A true evaluation of India's sustainability strategy demands that environmental and social indicators are also considered. Under this condition, India exhibits deficits that are evident on the basis of selected indicators, particularly in the area of environmental and social progress. This paper will analyze several selected indicators in support of this conclusion. (Internationales Asienforum/DIE)

Background: WHO, UNODC, and UNAIDS recommend a comprehensive package for prevention, treatment, and care of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID). We describe the uptake of services and the cost of implementing a comprehensive package for HIV prevention, treatment, and care services in Delhi, India. Methods: A cohort of 3774 PWID were enrolled for a prospective HIV incidence study and provided the comprehensive package: HIV and hepatitis testing and counseling, hepatitis B (HB) vaccination, syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections, clean needles-syringes, condoms, abscess care, and education. Supplementary services comprising tea and snacks, bathing facilities, and medical consultations were also provided. PWID were referred to government services for antiretroviral therapy (ART), TB care, opioid substitution therapy, and drug dependence treatment/rehabilitation. Results: The project spent USD 1,067,629.88 over 36 months of project implementation: 1.7% on capital costs, 3.9% on participant recruitment, 26.7% for project management, 49.9% on provision of services, and 17.8% on supplementary services. Provision of HIV prevention and care services cost the project USD 140.41/PWID/year. 95.3% PWID were tested for HIV. Of the HIV-positive clients, only 17.8% registered for ART services after repeated follow-up. Reasons for not seeking ART services included not feeling sick, need for multiple visits to the clinic, and long waiting times. 61.8% of the PWID underwent HB testing. Of the 2106 PWID eligible for HB vaccination, 81% initiated the vaccination schedule, but only 29% completed all three doses, despite intensive follow-up by outreach workers. PWID took an average of 8 clean needles-syringes/PWID/year over the project duration, with a mid-project high of 16 needles-syringes/PWID/year. PWID continued to also procure needles from other sources, such as chemists. One hundred five PWID were referred to OST services and 267 for rehabilitation services. Conclusions: A comprehensive HIV prevention, ...