Creation of the www.SehatWorldwide.org website for sharing resources and tools for peer-led HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Indian Prisons: A model for transcending borders to ensure women's right to health information

In India, the land of Kama Sutra, talking about sex is taboo. One of the factors fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India is this lack of communication, along with stigma associated with HIV and incarceration--creating a considerable challenge for prevention efforts. Even though there were various programs in India to educate the at-risk population, including commercial sex workers and injection drug users, there was no program targeting incarcerated women, some of whom may be in jail for commercial sex related offenses. Thus, I started the SEHAT (meaning ‘health' in Hindi) program in a women's prison in India. SEHAT offered a comprehensive curriculum that covered everything from Tuberculosis (endemic in India) to nutrition, first-aid, and, finally, HIV/AIDS prevention. This program was highly successful. To support a national scale-up and to provide tools for Master Trainers all over India (and worldwide), this paper describes the process of creating and implementing www.SehatWorlwide.org; this virtual space will include training modules, games, videos, etc….. The goal is to disseminate materials that facilitate learning so Master Trainers can avoid "reinventing the wheel." Using, www.SehatWorldwide.org, Master Trainers can select materials so as to customize culturally-appropriate information to be delivered in different national languages across India, as well as globally. This paper also provides an analysis of qualitative data covering the first cohort of Master Trainers and their experiences with and reactions to having access to this new tool. In sum, the paper conveys the value in using internet technology to transcend national and international borders.