Levi-Strauss Foundation

SUPPORTING THE HEALTH OF GARMENT AND TEXTILE WORKER COMMUNITIES IN INDIA AFFECTED BY THE GLOBAL GAG RULE

A Levi Strauss Foundation and Family Planning Association of India project supports garment and textile workers in India affected by the Global Gag Rule.

The project aims to empower vulnerable garment and loom workers about their sexual and reproductive rights and to lead stigma-free, healthy and productive lives in a safe and enabling environment. It also strengthens referral linkages, with continued support from the Reproductive Health and Family Planning Centre (RHFPC), to cater to walk-in referrals from the project sites. The project trains peer educators on leadership/communication skills to continue sensitisation.

The project envisages to reach out to and make quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services available and accessible to 60,000 textile workers and communities — with interventions across two locations in Karnataka and Maharashtra through the FPAI Bengaluru branch and the Thane district project in Bhiwandi.

The interventions are designed to improve the SRH of textile workers through screening for gender-based violence, provision of integrated counselling, testing for HIV/AIDs, syndromic management of sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections, treatment for anaemia, antenatal and postnatal care, family planning services including provision of contraceptives and referrals, immunisation and nutritional care, and treatment for minor ailments.