In 2010, Alliance India, together with SASO, received a grant from the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) to expand interventions to reduce drug relapse among female injecting drug users (FIDUs). Using an approach that is both holistic and sustainable, Chanura Kol aims to address the root causes of vulnerability and the primary causes of relapse post-detoxification.

Incorporating input from FIDUs in Manipur, it provides these women with longer term shelter, creates opportunities for income generation outside of sex work, and encourages the rebuilding of family relationships. At the end of three years, the programme will reach 700 FIDUs and demonstrate the critical role that post-detoxification support plays in successful interventions. Chanura Kol builds on the success of a similar care and support programme with FIDUs in Manipur.

CAHR is supported by an award to the International HIV/AIDS Alliance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Netherlands. It is a project spanning five countries (China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Malaysia) that will expand coverage of services (HIV prevention, treatment and care, sexual and reproductive health) to more than 230,000 injecting drug users (IDUs), their partners and children by 2014. In addition, CAHR will protect and promote the rights of these groups by fostering an enabling environment for HIV and harm reduction programming in the five countries.

In India, this project will be implemented by Alliance India in partnership with community-based harm reduction organisations and a harm reduction network. This project will help build capacity of service providers, making harm reduction programmes gender-sensitive, improve access to services and advocate for the rights of IDUs. Apart from providing services, it will have a strong capacity building component which will help in advocacy, knowledge management and improving services for IDUs.