Activities of SPARSHA can be best described best under three major areas (A) Advocacy, (B) Innovation in Stigma Reduction and (C) Care and Support. Since the beginning SPARSHA engages itself wholeheartedly to create a sustainable and caring environment for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Advocacy in early days

 In early days we focused on – sensitizing media personnel through press team to perform one act plays in urban as well rural settings of West Bengal to reduce HIV stigma. We also evaluated ‘School AIDS Education Program’ at the behest of the West Bengal State AIDS Prevention & Control Society (WBSAP&CS). Fourth ‘West Bengal Sexual Health Conference’ in 2003 provided us a platform to share our unique experience of working on HIV/AIDS prevention and care among children & adults living with hemophilia. A poster capturing all these innovative work on HIV stigma reduction and care received first prize in the ‘International Conference on AIDS’ held in Chennai, India in 2001.

Innovation in stigma reduction (2005 onwards)

 Empowerment of women living with HIV/AIDS through treatment advocacy and education is one of our major activities. We were in partnership with the ‘International Treatment Preparedness Coalition’ (ITPC) with financial assistance from Tide Foundation to do the job. Subsequently, an innovative art based HIV communication & stigma reduction intervention was developed by our organization. ‘People Living with HIV/AIDS & their Friends’ (PLWHAF) and Patuas (scroll painters) worked hand in hand in this initiative. It was funded by UNESCO & UNAIDS with collaboration from ‘Make Art Stop AIDS’ (MASA) & University of California, Los Angeles.
The success of aforementioned pilot project on HIV/AIDS stigma reduction encouraged us to adapt a unique community based approach where local folk singers (from Baul & Tarja form) weaved songs around the personal testimony of people living with HIV( PLH). Community engagement and school-based advocacy were two other components of this intervention launched in the districts of Howrah & Paschim Medinipur in West Bengal. The project was supported by the World Bank South Asia Regional Development Marketplace (WBSARDM). SPARSHA also collaborated with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to investigate factors associated with HIV transmission in marriage as well as care needs assessment of children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Expansion of care and support activities

 We continue to receive grant-support either from WBSAP&CS or from ‘Global Fund’ through ‘Solidarity & Action Against The HIV Infection in India’ (SAATHII) to address HIV/AIDS care & support issues. Such activities were commenced by SPARSHA in mid-2000. In line with State-program decision, the number of Drop-In-Centers from where we operated hadvaried over time. However the nature of services offered by us under this support has remained unchanged and constitute networking with HIV/AIDS physicians in health care system and physicians working at Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) for Tuberculosis, counseling for safer sex practices as well as adherence to anti-HIV medicines’ and assisting PLH to access low cost anti-HIV medicines unavailable through State government program.
 
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in recognition of our innovative HIV stigma reduction initiative conferred ‘Woman Exemplar Award’ of 2013 on Mithu Jana of SPARSHA.