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Evidence based planning is the key element of halting and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the state under National AIDS Control Program (NACP Phase III). Hence Strategic Information Management Unit (SIMU) is established at West Bengal State AIDS Control Society to maximize effective use of all available data/information and prepare evidence based action plan for effectual implementation of HIV/AIDS Programme in the state. SIMU – GSACS integrates all available sources of data/information and presents logical and rational strategic information useful for decision making. The output from SIMU addresses strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation and surveillance and assist WBSACS in tracking the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the effectiveness of the response as well as assess how well WBSACS and its partner organizations are fulfilling their commitment to meet agreed objectives.
During the execution of NACP-III it was felt that the data from HIV Sentinel Surveillance and Computerized Management Information System (CMIS) are not sensitive enough to detect the emerging hot spots of the epidemic because the data entry is offline. To overcome this National AIDS Control Organization has introduced Strategic Information Management System (SIMS) on-line system at national and state levels to focus on strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation, surveillance and research. It is aimed to provide effective tracking and response to HIV epidemic. This system assigns clear responsibilities to all programme officers and facilitates data flow and feedback at various levels. Also being on-line data entry in SIMS, the data accessibility at each level is significantly increasing day-by-day.
Although a number of new initiatives were taken in the previous programme, their evaluation was not given adequate attention. This hindered the assessment of their efficacy. In NACP-IV, more tools are proposed to be developed in consultation with the technical partners for the evaluation of each of the proposed intervention.
The SIMU division of WBSACS published Annual Reports, HIV Sentinel Surveillance Reports and various other kinds of reports on regular basis.
HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) in India, since its inception in 1998, has evolved into a credible and robust system for HIV epidemic monitoring and acclaimed as one of the best in the world. Sentinel surveillance provides essential information to understand the trends and dynamics of HIV epidemic among different risk groups in the country. It aids in refinement of strategies and prioritization of focus for prevention, care and treatment interventions under the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). HIV estimates of prevalence, incidence and mortality developed based on findings from HIV Sentinel Surveillance enable the programme in assessing the impacts at a macro level.
During NACP-IV, HIV Sentinel Surveillance will be conducted once in two years so that adequate time is spent on in-depth analysis and modeling, epidemiological research and use of surveillance data for programmatic purposes. The 14th round of sentinel surveillance was conducted during last quarter of 2014-15.
