The project, funded in FY09 and FY10, supports the GOI National Policy on HIV in the World of Work, launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) in 2009, and contributes to PEPFAR/Indias goals 1, 3 and 4: access to quality services; country leadership and commitment; and health systems. The USDOL/ILO approach mobilizes and builds capacity of national stakeholders to address HIV prevention, stigma and discrimination in the workplace and enhance social protection for PLWH.

In FY12, ILO will:

1. Support development and implementation of a model intervention targeted at most at risk migrant/informal workers and increase access to HIV services in selected sectors.

2. Strengthen institutional capacity of MOLE; National AIDS Control Organization (NACO); State AIDS Control Societies (SACS); and employers, workers and private sector organizations to implement the National Policy. Technical assistance to these institutions will have nation-wide impact.

This project will strengthen the collaborative mechanism among the SACS, state Labor Departments, trade unions, employers organizations and the private corporate sector. This institutional capacity strengthening improves sustainability of the efforts and supports country ownership; the collaboration with MOLE and its institutions, and investment of GOI funds for activities, will ensure financial sustainability.

USDOL and ILO have a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system to ensure continual improvement of activities. A Project Management Team, chaired by the Additional Secretary MOLE with membership from NACO, employers and workers organizations, UNAIDS and networks of PLWH, supervises and monitors progress.

Global Fund / Programmatic Engagement Questions

1. Is the Prime Partner of this mechanism also a Global Fund principal or sub-recipient, and/or does this mechanism support Global Fund grant implementation? Yes2. Is this partner also a Global Fund principal or sub-recipient? Neither3. What activities does this partner undertake to support global fund implementation or governance?

Budget Code Recipient(s) of Support Approximate Budget Brief Description of ActivitiesOHSS Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) 0 ILO has been providing TA to MOLE, the PR for one of the 3 approved Round 9 grants, in areas of project management, institutional capacity building of management units, and research. ILO is expected to be one of the three SRs, but there is no-sub-recipient agreement signed as yet with MOLE.ILO has also supported the grant preparatory work, including grant negotiation for Rd-9.

With funding support from USDOL, the ILO started in 2001 a three-phase project aimed at establishing a sustainable national program to provide HIV prevention, care and support through the world of work in India. Working with government, employers and workers organizations, NACO, UNAIDS, and PLWH, the project contributed to strengthening the policy environment, and developing the capacities of employers and workers organizations/SACS and enterprises to implement HIV workplace interventions and PPP. Together with its partners, the ILO developed a five-year strategic framework for action on HIV (2010-2015) that builds on previous work and contributes to achievement of PEPFAR and GOI goals related to workplace interventions. Building on this solid ground, the PEPFAR funding for FY12 will be utilized for continuing technical assistance to the following activities:- Support MOLE to implement at least three state level workshops in collaboration with state Labor Departments, SACS, and employers and workers organizations to disseminate the National Policy on HIV in the World of Work and to develop a plan of action for its implementation; - Support MOLE in its coordination and advisory role as chair of the National Steering Committee on HIV and the World of Work, which is responsible for supervising and monitoring the implementation of the National Policy. - Support MOLE to institutionally mainstream HIV and to identify opportunities for integrating with schemes/institutions with large outreach such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Director General Labor Welfare (DGLW) and Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), through training and technical support. - In partnership with MOLE, develop and conduct skills-building workshops for SACS/TSUs on HIV workplace programs and PPP for participants from at least 20 states, including the USG priority states. These activities will contribute to the NACP by intensifying the mainstreaming efforts with key ministries/departments and leveraging resources of multiple departments for implementation. In addition, to increase engagement of the corporate sector in reducing stigma and discrimination and facilitating PPP, the USDOL/ILO project will work with employers and workers organizations to leverage partnerships by: (1) organizing and conducting workshops to strengthen capacity of HIV focal points from at least five employers organizations/chambers and seven workers organizations to mobilize their members and affiliates to respond to HIV; and (2) providing technical assistance to NACO/SACS in developing and replicating models of PPP in the framework of NACP to reach most vulnerable workers. Additional contributions to NACP will be made by promoting the rights of PLWH, marginalized and vulnerable populations at workplaces by organizing and conducting capacity building workshops for PLWH networks using materials and tools developed by the USDOL/ILO project in collaboration with the PLWH networks. These workshops will equip the networks to advocate on HIV issues at the workplace. The individuals trained among the PLWH networks will be resource-persons for advocacy and sensitization programs aimed at protecting the rights of PLWH and addressing stigma and discrimination at the workplace.

The National Policy on HIV and the World of Work, developed by MOLE with technical support from ILO, recognizes HIV as a threat to the Indian working population. Nearly 93% of the 400 million working population in India is in the informal economy. Many of these workers are also migrants who are largely unskilled, characterized by low literacy, negligible social protection benefits, difficult working conditions, poor health seeking behavior and limited access to health care services. According to NACO, prevalence of HIV among single migrants is 2.35%. Reaching out to migrants is a key focus of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) Phases III and IV.

The USDOL/ILO partnership has demonstrated the important role that trade unions can play in reaching the vulnerable informal workers from the construction sector through three trade union led projects in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. With FY12 funds, the USDOL/ILO will work with workers and employers organizations and state Labor Departments in the Northern Indian States (USG priority states) to develop an intervention to reach migrant/informal workers from a key economic sector (such as construction, mining, textile sectors). This activity will support NACP by intensifying and consolidating quality prevention services to high risk and vulnerable populations.

Technical assistance will be provided to a trade union to support implementation of the intervention in collaboration with the SACS; an estimated 10,000 workers will be reached with HIV prevention, care and support services. The objective is to promote combination prevention by:

- Creating an enabling environment through sensitization of key stakeholders and mobilization of community-based organizations/structures;- Involving key stakeholders (employers, contractors, workers, supervisors and enforcement authorities) in planning, implementation and monitoring;- Increasing knowledge and risk perception on STIs and HIV among the targeted workers through a combination of peer education and media campaigns;- Supporting the target workers in adopting preventive and safer behaviors with BCC strategies;- Promoting STI treatment seeking, condom use and uptake of counseling and testing services;- Creating a referral network to reach migrant/informal workers with government/ SACS supported facilities;- Facilitating access of workers to the welfare schemes of the health and labor departments;- Building partnership with the government and SACS services to ensure workers access to treatment, counseling and ART;- Leveraging in-kind and financial contributions.

The trade union will follow the SACS/NACO guideline for migrant/informal workers interventions and will share progress on all key indicators. The ILO will develop additional indicators to capture access to government services by workers, and the inclusion of HIV in existing programs such as safety, health and insurance schemes.

The ILO will document and share the results with NACO/SACS/USG for replication and scaling up. This will address the dual objectives of raising awareness on the need for HIV interventions targeting workers at risk as well as of sharing the lessons learned with the national program.

Implementing Mechanism Indicator InformationRedacted