CHARDEP is implementing a project to check the transmission of HIV infection among and by high risk groups such as Female Sex Workers (FSWs) and Men having Sex with Men (MSM). This programme is supported by APAC-VHS. The project team has its office at Kuzhithurai, and is covering seventy three panchayats in Thovalai, Munchirai, Thiruvattar, Melpuram blocks and Kuzhithurai Municipalities of Kanyakumari District. The programme was initiated in October 2007 and in the next three years would covered one thousand eight hundred female sex workers and seven hundred men having sex with men.

The main strategies are to identify the maximum number possible and having close follow up. Two Health Centres, one at Marthandam and another at Vellamadam are functioning under this project. Treatment for STDs and other minor illnesses of FSWs is provided at these centres.  These also serve as recreational centres for FSWs. Indoor games, swings, pets and a dining hall have been provided for their relaxation and use. Trained and experienced counselors talk to the clients and counseling would lead to positive change in sexual behavior. Voluntary testing is one of the behaviors elicited by the programme. A voluntary testing centre is also in place at Kuzhithurai.

The Department of Family Welfare, Government of India is providing the No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) service as a non-invasive procedure for permanent sterilization for men. CHARDEP’s cultural troupe helped provide publicity for the scheme during its launching in Kanyakumari district by conducting programmes throughout the district.