A Promising Way to Help Drug Users Is ‘Severely Lacking’ Around the World, Report Says

Global funding for harm reduction programs is in “crisis,” according to the latest Global State of Harm Reduction report, potentially threatening the effectiveness of HIV, hepatitis and drug overdose relief programs worldwide. Harm reduction policies and programs are meant to curb the negative effects associated with illicit drug use — such as overdoses and the spread of blood-borne illnesses like HIV and hepatitis C — rather than focusing solely on stopping substance use. Proponents, and plenty of research, suggest these practices can have a sizable impact on public health, and help drug users who can’t or don’t want to quit. But some critics feel that these practices condone or enable illicit drug use, and they’ve historically faced pushback from lawmakers. Perhaps owing partially to that controversy, harm reduction programs such as supervised injection facilities, needle exchanges and drug testing sites are “severely lacking in many countries,” according to the new report. Globally, funding for harm reduction programs in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries reached just $188 million in 2016 — the same amount recorded in 2007, and a price tag far below the $1.5 billion that UNAIDS estimates would be necessary annually to manage HIV response efforts among drug users by 2020. The report also tracked a slight decline in needle and syringe programs worldwide, which aim to provide drug users with clean needles ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime HIV/AIDS public health Source Type: news