By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

WITH the help of Northern Marianas College students, the Department of Public Health’s HIV/STD Prevention Program has reached the target number of people for a survey on sexual behavior and HIV and STD prevalence in the CNMI.
Program coordinator John Dax Moreno said the students were able to interview 400 individuals from one of the at-risk population groups.
Survey respondents included young unmarried men and women 18 to 24 years old.
The second generation survey, he said, is necessary to ensure that healthcare agency responses are evidenced-based and appropriately targeted.
Moreno said they have yet to complete the survey among the two other at-risk population groups — men who have sex with men 18 and older and pregnant women 18 and older.
The second generation survey on Saipan is funded by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community which provided $31,000.
The information from the second generation survey will provide the first formal baseline data on the prevalence of HIV and STD and risk behaviors among Saipan’s at-risk population groups.
The two ways of gathering information are by using a risk assessment questionnaire with trained interviewers, and by encouraging individuals participating in the survey to get free anonymous and confidential testing.