::  NACP-II:

     The NACP II in Manipur was launched from 1999 with main focus on Injecting Drug Users (IDU) prevention   interventions. Its primary goal was to reduce prevalence rate amongst IDUs and their sexual partners and also to bring a   sustained change of behaviour amongst them. It had also aimed to keep HIV prevalence below 3% of the adult population   in the state by raising awareness levels among 90% of youth and people in the reproductive age group and achieving   90% condom use among high risks groups.
 Operationally, the project interventions would seek to achieve the following by the end of the project:

 While there has been a systematic improvement in the response, there are areas that still require greater attention and   stronger focus. The lessons that have emerged from the implementation of NACP-II include the following:

• Complexities of the epidemic and its exact dimensions are yet to be understood especially in the State of Manipur.
• Frequent changes of Project Directors (PDs) of State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) and other senior programme  managers at the state level weakened the thrust and focus of interventions. In some highly vulnerable States, PDs  were either saddled with additional non-HIV responsibilities or given SACS charge as additional responsibility. A  large number of functional positions in the SACS remained vacant. These factors contributed to an uneven  implementation of the programme. It is necessary to have policy safeguard against this trend.
• Decentralisation and devolution of decision-making powers to the SACS was a right step, but without  commensurate capacity development and technical support, it did not produce desired results.
• Focused attention on the HRGs through TIs proved to be an effective strategy for preventing the spread of  infection. However, this was not appreciated and implemented in all states, partly due to attitudes towards high  risk behaviours and partly due to weak systems for partnership with civil society. Consequently saturation of  coverage of HRGs is yet to be accomplished.
• Condom promotion and procurement registered an improvement in 2005 but remained below the targets,  emphasizing the need for more aggressive Social Marketing.
• Since the situation of the high risk populations keep changing and there are several environmental issues involved  as well as the social responses in the proximity of the communities, a situation assessment can help in developing  strategies that are appropriate. Though prevention programs have been in place among such populations through  the NACP II, there are gaps in both coverage, quality of services and supply of commodities including tools for  harm reduction. This analysis will assist in understanding “what are the efforts that are required to augment the  response and minimize the response gaps”.