<b>Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association (TNVHA)</b><br><br>

The year 2005 had been a very different year for TNVHA than the past two decades. The year was flooded with activities after the December 2004 Tsunami, also with quite different types of activities. From pure health promotion activities, TNVHA plunged into preparing itself and its members in Disaster Management and Tsunami Recovery work. It was a completely different type of work and much effort had to be made. There were too many resources, too much needs and too much confusion. Slowly, TNVHA learnt that through sustained strategies, these could be brought into a good equation and they also learnt that by repeatedly calling NGOs and providing information and creating linkages, many things could be achieved. In building the capacity of NGOs, TNVHA added new topics like team building, identifying vulnerable groups among the community, sphere standards, preparing for local disasters like flood, cyclone, etc. Also reproductive health issues related to disaster. So from general issue the focus was sharpened.<br><br>TNVHA also had the opportunities to spread its experience across the sea. It was invited as part of member of Tsunami Relief & Rehabilitation Co-ordination(TRRC) to attend and present paper on the WHO Conference on Health at Phuket, Thailand. TNVHA had opportunity to collaborate directly with Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Belgium in conducting a study in Tsunami affected area in Nagappattinam Distt. TNVHA concentrated in different activities of Tsunami but the other activities in districts went on despite all. Due to the Tsunami and HIV/AIDS, TNVHA lost few staff to different funding agencies. But new staff with their own initiatives learnt the rope and fulfilled their work. TNVHA also initiated action to prepare a handbook.<br><br>TNVHA has been a pioneer in HIV/AIDS related work. Its expertise is now visible in its approaches in several projects to tackle this big issue, – building capacity for care and support, reducing stigma and discrimination, changing the attitude to promote health care services, yet another step to control and prevent HIV/AIDS and capacity building of NGOs to combat HIV/AIDS. In managing these projects, TNVHA and its partners, Christian AID, Elton John AIDS Foundation, AIDS Prevention and Control Society, Voluntary Health Services and TAI – VHSs are building each other’s capacity and knowledge that would eventually go a long way in resolving several issues of HIV/AIDS.<br><br>The alternative systems of health care were popularized by TNVHA in the AYUSH Project. As the Mother NGO in the project, TNVHA organized melas, camps, workshops, awareness meetings, demonstration of Yoga, and herbal plant cultivation through its members. As a State level Association, TNVHA is of course the natural choice for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India for this project. TNVHA now looks forward to working on this project in all the districts of the State.