HIV/STD Intervention Project
In 1992 WHO (GPA) funded National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to undertake a three month community based cross-sectional survey in Sonagachi, one of the oldest and largest red light areas of Calcutta, to assess the prevalence of STD (sexually transmitted diseases) and HIV among sex workers. The survey was conducted by All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH & PH), a Government of India institution in collaboration with local NGOs and Community Based Organisations (CBOs). The survey looked into issues of social demography of the locality, mapped the sexual behavioural practices among sex workers, their clients and partners and assessed the prevalence of STD and HIV among them.