The Naz Foundation (India) Trust is a non-governmental organisation in that country that works on HIV/AIDS and sexual health. It is based in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

VISION

Naz’s vision is to create a just and equitable society by transforming individuals from socially and economically excluded communities into agents of change.

History

The Naz Foundation (India) Trust (Naz) established in 1994 by Anjali Gopalan, started its work with addressing issues of hiv/aids and sexuality.

Over the years, Naz has conducted thousands of sessions to help individuals and community based organisations understand sexuality and mainstream HIV in their programmes. Naz has worked to strengthen the care and support services provided to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) as well as counselling and referral for the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2001, it set up one of the first homes for orphan children living with HIV/AIDS in Delhi.

With a focus on advocacy, Naz successfully challenged the archaic law under the Indian penal code under Sec 377 which criminalised homosexuality.

The years of intense HIV prevention work made Naz clear that adolescent girls and young women were among the most vulnerable to be infected with HIV. Therefore, in 2006, Naz piloted an adolescent girls and young women’s empowerment programme using sport and life skills to empower adolescent girls from economically marginalised communities. Over the years, Naz has consolidated its work in the thematic areas of health (HIV and sexuality), gender and rights.