Policy brief: reduction of HIV transmission through outreach

Author:UNAIDS
Date: 2004
In many countries, access to drug-dependence treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention and care services is limited for injecting drug users. Moreover, users of illicit drugs are commonly marginalized by communities and usually attempt to remain hidden from the authorities, especially law enforcement agencies. They also frequently avoid using institutional treatment and other services, either because they fear being registered as illicit drug users and prosecuted, or because they feel that the drug-dependence treatment on offer would not respond to their needs. Consequently, the drug users who could benefit most from HIV/AIDS prevention services and drug-dependence treatment are often the least likely to use these services. For this reason, HIV/AIDS prevention programmes have undergone significant change during the past two decades: instead of waiting for injecting drug users to enter health and social institutions they offer services to users where they are and where they use drugs. In order to accomplish such programmes a strong outreach component is necessary, involving various approaches. Fulltext