NEW DELHI, June 12 (UPI) -- National AIDS control programs in India must focus on educating rather than reforming high-risk groups including prostitutes and drug users -- contrary to the beliefs of some American non-profit organizations, experts here say.

"The National AIDS control program is very vibrant and there is lots of awareness, so I feel India is not going the way of Africa" in terms of high infection rates, said Dr. Sushma Mehrotra, director of CARE India's SAKSHAM program.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CARE's program provides money for educating members of the high-risk population -- primarily sex workers, intravenous drug users and truck drivers.

"We are facing problems from the United States in terms of funding - they are telling us that promoting the rights of sex workers is promoting their work," but the point is education to prevent the spread of HIV, said Mehrotra.

According to India's National AIDS Control Organization, 5.2 million adults in the country are infected with HIV. Still, that is less than 1 percent of the population, in contrast to the huge percentages infected in some African countries.

Many of the educational programs are based in India's six high-prevalence states, four in the south -- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra -- and two in the northeast -- Manipur and Nagaland.

"We are doing capacity building in the area of community-led structural intervention, to handhold the community to empower them," said Mehrotra, discussing SAKSHAM's program -- which stands for Strengthening Awareness knowledge skills for HIV/AIDS management and means "empowered," in Hindi.

So far the programs have targeted sex-workers and intravenous drug users. These individuals, men and women alike, tend to be the most vulnerable in the power hierarchy. They typically contract and spread HIV/AIDS through fear of losing income and being faced with debt through saying no or suggesting protected sex, said Mehrotra.

"We also teach them communication skills, which enhances self-esteem," she said.

A training center in Sona Gachi, the red-light district of Kolkata, currently stands as a model for the SAKSHAM program. CARE India is also running other clinics and helping forge links with government-operated services, which aim at preventing the spread of the virus.

At the state and national level, the project hopes to also include further coordination with the Ministries of Home and Social Welfare, as well as providing additional support beyond the Ministry of Health's efforts to stem AIDS growth in India.

At Sona Gachi, sex workers learn how to unite and take care of their own needs -- financial and personal.

"With greater awareness and education, we may be able to prevent the spread of AIDS-related illnesses" without disrupting livelihoods that many in India's hugely populated country are unwilling to give up, said Mehrotra.

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