HIV/AIDS harm reduction in Iran.

摘要

A consultation on HIV prevention in injecting drug users was held in Tehran, April 17-20, 2006, organised by the Government of The Islamic Republic of Iran, the World Bank, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Participants represented the countries of the Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran), one of the major drug-producing areas and trafficking routes globally. The main aim was to review what works and to learn from the Iranian experiences of how to implement comprehensive harm-reduction programmes. There were about 13- million injecting drug users worldwide in 2004, of whom at least 200000 were estimated to be in Iran alone.Because injecting drug users are often highly stigmatised and marginalised, they are also difficult to reach, with only 5% coverage by prevention interventions in Asia. The efficient transmission of HIV through the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment and the low coverage by prevention interventions have resulted in HIV epidemics in such users throughout Asia and eastern Europe. Epidemics fuelled by injecting drug use are further sustained through sexual transmission, with potential for wider spread.