Follow us on:

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube

Archive -Seychelles

A more coordinated approach to better protect female sex workers rights |24 March 2017

The human rights of female sex workers are to be better protected and effort is being stepped up to ensure they get and are able to access health services and programmes in a friendlier environment.

This will be through new targeted and more coordinated approaches that are being finalised in an operational plan put together by a large number of concerned partners and stakeholders.

The need to come up with what is being called a National Costed Operational Plan for Female Sex Workers for the coming five years (2017-2021) follows a survey of female sex workers (FSWs) here commissioned by the SADC and conducted in 2015  to better understand the prevalence of HIV and to identify factors driving the epidemic here.

This was with the aim to formulate more targeted programmes to control the situation and protect the rights of more vulnerable groups in society.

One hundred and fifty-six (156) eligible FSWs aged 15 and above took part in the survey which discovered that these women were engaging in sexual behaviour that were placing them at risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Both male and female condom use were discovered to be low and 25% of them were discovered not to be accessing health services when faced with sexual health problems which may indicate a lack of trust in the health system.

When it came to HIV and Aids, the FSWs showed fear or shame of letting others know of their status and the use of illegal drugs was quite high among them at 94.2%.

A first consultative forum with concerned health professionals, stakeholders and partners to formulate the plan was held in January this year and a draft of all the recommendations reflecting the needs of the FSWs was agreed on and put together.

During a working session yesterday at the Eden Bleu Hotel it was discussed and reviewed, new inputs added and clarifications sought on aspects which were not too clear.

The director general for the Public Health Authority (PHA), Dr Meggy Louange, launched the discussions on the document.

Dr Louange said developing the plan is one of the priorities of the health ministry and its conception is the result of a collaborative effort of various organisations and individuals working together to improve the situation of HIV/Aids among the most vulnerable and affected groups in our population.

“The Ministry of Health recognises the tremendous effort of all those whose contributions have enhanced the quality of this plan namely those of all the women and girls who took part in the survey in 2015 which have helped to prepare this plan as well as the main sponsor the World Health Organisation (WHO).

She remarked that ensuring equitable access to sexual and reproductive health and HIV services for vulnerable groups of our population bring a lot of benefits for the individuals, public health and the country’s economy.

“The development of this plan is just the beginning of creating an enabling environment that will ensure effective and equitable HIV prevention, treatment and care. It will also help fill the gaps in existing programmes in development, designing and implementation,” she stressed.

Rosie Bistoquet, the director for Family Health and Nutrition and a member of the technical team who worked on the draft document said the review was important to ensure the document truly reflects all the needs of the specific target group as agreed in the recommendations of the consultations.  

“The aim is to ensure all stakeholders are satisfied and take ownership of its content in order to fully commit themselves to making it work and not leave anyone behind,” Ms Bistoquet said.

The plan consists of three parts; the first one outlines the present situation in the country with an analysis of the prevalence and incidence of HIV and Aids as well as the health and social circumstances of FSWs, the 2nd part presents the proposed areas for intervention with a brief description of what is required and the 3rd part gives a detailed table of the proposed costed programmes for the next five years with objectives, performance indicators and budget.

The local consultant who led work on the plan, Benjamin Vel, gave an overview of the plan and noted that various activities will be organised to ensure all the proposed programmes in the plan are carried out effectively to benefit the FSWs.

The different programmes consist of creating an environment which supports FSWs, having in place the   mechanisms to collect all necessary data on FSWs, improving access and availability of services, increasing the capacity and competence of people working with FSWs, putting in place an effective monitoring and review mechanism for the plan and to ensure it is reviewed continuously.

Following the review the plan is expected to be finalised and submitted for approval at the end of the month.

 

 

 

» Back to Archive