From April 3-7, 2011, PSI will join thousands of program implementers, activists, researchers and policy makers from around the world to mark the 22nd International Harm Reduction Conference. PSI staff will present seven abstracts and two oral presentations on its work with injecting drug users and HIV prevention in Asia and Eastern Europe. PSI’s work in Thailand will also be featured in the MTV International Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival running in conjunction with the conference. Thailand’s submission to the film festival follows P’Boy, a former injecting drug user who is now a peer educator with PSI (watch below).
According to an International Harm Reduction Association (IRHA) report, “injecting drug use occurs in at least 158 countries and territories around the world with estimates that 15.9 million (range 11 to 21 million) people inject drugs globally. The largest injecting populations are found in China, the United States and Russia. In 120 countries, there are reports of HIV infection among people who inject drugs. In eight countries – Argentina, Brazil, Estonia, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand – HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs is estimated to be over 40%. Worldwide, approximately three million (range 0.8 to 6.6 million) people who inject drugs are living with HIV.”
Sharing equipment to inject drugs is an extremely efficient way to transmit HIV— about six times more efficient than male-to-female sexual transmission. Sexual transmission further compounds the HIV risk faced by people who inject drugs. Females who inject drugs are at particularly high risk as they often trade or sell sex to purchase drugs and inject with the same needle as their male partners.”
Despite these challenges, the evidence base for reducing the spread of HIV among people who use drugs is strong. Using an array of harm reduction interventions, PSI works to reduce drug-related harms. PSI programs include peer education about the risks of injecting (including both HIV and Hepatitis C infection as well as wound care), the promotion of HIV counseling and testing and behavior change communication to increase correct and consistent condom use. PSI also distributes sterile injecting equipment in both private and public sectors to reduce needle sharing, and facilitates the distribution of the drug naloxone to prevent overdose death. In addition to reducing drug-related harms with these programs, PSI also works to prevent the initiation of injecting drug use and to promote the cessation of drug use with opioid substitution therapy.
PSI currently implements interventions for people who use drugs in 11 countries – China, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia and Mexico.
Multimedia
The following video, about P’Boy, a former drug user who has dedicated his life to helping people quit using drugs, will be screened at the conference.
PSI Presentations
- Building Community Rehabilitation for Injecting Drug Users in Yunnan and Guangxi
- The initiation into injecting drug use and the role of male Injecting Drug Users
- Improving Thailand’s National Harm Reduction Model Using Private Sector Marketing Planning
- Capacity Building for Professional Peer-led Harm Reduction in Thailand
- Scaling up Needle and Syringe Access in Thailand Using an Evidence-based, Client-Centered Approach
- Mobilizing IDU Peers to Advocate for Peer-based Harm Reduction in Thailand
