a. Female sex workers (FSWs)

Women who sell sex. Includes women who live and practice sex work in the village, women who live in the village but practice sex work outside the village, and women who practice sex work in the village but live outside the village. Excludes women who used to be sex workers in the past and are currently not entertaining clients since last three months. Focus would be on FSWs who are high volume (more than 8 clients in 15 days) and medium volume (5 to 8 clients in 15 days), those who are highly mobile i.e. travelling at least 10 days a month outside the village. Also FSWs who are being covered by TI but they visit TI irregularly and there is evidence of services being discontinued.

b. Men who have sex with men (MSM)

Men who engage in anal sex with men. Includes men who live and engage in anal sex with other men in the village and with men outside the village and those who have anal sex with men in casual partnerships or in commercial relationships.

c. Transgenders (Hijras)

who sell or buy sex with regular or commercial partners.

d. Injecting Drug Users (IDUs)

IDUs are defined as those who used any drugs through injecting routes in the last three months. IDUs may live and inject drugs in the village, live in the village but inject drugs outside the village, and inject drugs in the village but do not live in the village. Some IDUs might be sex workers or MSM and some of them are also female. For Female IDUs standard definitions of NACO should be used including services.

e. People Living with HIV

Persons infected by HIV are considered to be high risk in case they do not continue to maintain positive prevention practices. Suppose a positive man continues to have multi-partner sex without condoms.

f. Bridge Population who are highly vulnerable

a. At risk men including clients of FSWs or MSMs: Includes commercial drivers and cleaners who live in the village and work within or outside the village, migrant workers (single men or women) who come into the village or go outside the village for work/business for a short duration. Excludes long-term migrants who migrate for more than once a year. Includes spouses of female sex workers also.

g. Pregnant Mothers

from the point of vertical transmission and preventing them by ensuring early testing and necessary support during delivery.

h. Migrants

As per the definitions of revised migrant strategy, these are men or women who migrate to high prevalence districts or towns/cities within or outside the State and have evidence of risk exposure (buying or selling sex; injecting habits based on information from the destination intervention or HSS). These migrants ust be circular and of short duration, thus having the risk of carrying HIV from one place to another.

Mobile Population

Significant populations of the village move to nearby towns for work or business and they may come back on the same day or during the weekend. In case it was found that in the nearby town where they move also have HRGs and during discussion with these HRGs it was found that these groups also buy or sell sex during their stay in the town. Then it is important that these groups need to be covered.

i. Vulnerable population

a. Partners/spouses of migrant/mobile men and women

b. Partners/spouses of commercial drivers/cleaners

c. Men who have sex with men (not necessarily anal sex)

d. IDUs (not necessarily sharing needles)

e. Women who have casual multiple partners

f. Youth Population who have STI or HIV, who are TB patients, who are known to be clients of HRGs, who are on ART.