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Harm Reduction

by Editor

If You Inject, Learn How To Reduce The Risks...

Injecting drug users (IDUs) continue to be a group widely affected by HIV and AIDS.

Sharing needles is a high risk activity that can transmit blood-borne viruses, including HIV. Sharing needles and other equipment such as syringes and mixing spoons is believed to be three times as likely to transmit HIV than sexual intercourse.

Harm reduction focuses on minimising risk caused through drug use and preventing the spread of HIV without supporting drug use. Often the approach to this includes:

A Needle exchange program: enabling drug users to exchange used needles and syringes for new, clean ones, to reduce the risk of HIV infection through sharing equipment.

Rehabilitation clinics: providing counselling and detoxification treatments to help users stabilise their behaviour. This can include providing drug substitutions that help users to gradually decrease their dependency.

Community based outreach: working with IDUs to distribute clean equipment, promote condom use and provide information on prevention and rehabilitation. (Some IDUs may get involved in the commercial sex trade in order to fund expensive drug addiction so need sexual health information and condom promotion to prevent HIV transmission through other routes.)

While there is evidence for the success of harm reduction, there are country authorities who object to the programmes for political or moral reasons.