New York City cuts the infection rate of H.I.V. among addicts

President Obama did the right thing in December when he repealed the 21-year-old ban on federal financing for programs that give drug users access to clean needles. Almost nothing has happened since because the Department of Health and Human Services still has not issued the new rules that states and localities need before they can use any federal money to expand existing exchange programs or start new ones.

Administration officials say the rules will be issued soon. They must be written in a way that broadens access to needle exchanges, rather than restricts it.

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PREVALENCE OF HIV, HCV AND INJECTING AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG IDUS AT NEEDLE AND SYRINGE PROGRAMS

The Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey (ANSPS) monitors human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV) antibody prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Australia. The survey also monitors behavioural indices of risk and provides important information that can be used for planning prevention, treatment and support policies and services. Each year, all clients attending participating NSP services during the designated survey period are invited to complete a brief, anonymous questionnaire and to provide a capillary blood sample for HIV and HCV antibody testing. This report presents national, state and territory data for the period 2005 to 2009.

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Australia:Prisoners should have needle exchange

Needle exchange programs should be introduced in Victoria’s prisons to reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses, the Australian Medical Association’s Victorian president says.Dr Harry Hemley said needle exchange programs in the wider community had significantly reduced the spread of Hepatitis C and other blood-borne viruses.

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Statistics from the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange Scheme: 1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010

This bulletin summarises information on people visiting the Needle and Syringe Exchange Scheme and relates to the twelve-month period ending 31 March 2010. It is the ninth bulletin reporting on information collected on the operation of the Northern Ireland Needle and Syringe Exchange Scheme (NSES), which was introduced in April 2001.

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NSPs are taxes well spent

In October 2009 the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research released the econometric study called Return on Investment evaluating the cost effectiveness of needle and syringe programs in
Australia. It covered 1999 until 2009. The estimate found that $1 dollar spent on Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) saves the community $27, including the business sector through prevented lost productivity.

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Impact: a case study examining the closure of a large urban fixed site needle exchange in Canada

In 2008, one of the oldest fixed site neelde exchanges in a large urban city in western Canada was closed due to community pressure. The service had been in existence for over 20 years. Case Description: This case study focuses on the consequences of the switch to mobile needle exchange services after the closure and examines the impact of the closure on clients’ risk behavior related to drug use, needle distribution and access to other services. The context surronding the closure was also examined.

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Harm reduction” needed to cut drug-user AIDS risk

In a report on the use of “harm reduction” measures like clean needle exchanges and safer drug substitutes, the experts found that in countries which fail to take prevention steps, drug-related HIV infection accounts for the vast majority of new cases.(Reuters) - Barely a twentieth of the estimated $3.2 billion needed is put into preventing drug users spreading the AIDS virus, experts said on Monday, and the shortfall is fuelling HIV epidemics in parts of Europe and Asia.

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Syringe Exchange Programmes in the Context of Harm Reduction

Injecting drug users (IDU) are particularly vulnerable to hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other bloodborne infections as result of sharing contaminated injecting equipment. Providing access and encouraging utilization of all sterile injection paraphernalia for IDU is considered a fundamental component of an effective harm reduction programme. Twenty-five years after the implementation of the first official syringe exchange programme (SEP) in the world, providing IDU with access to sterile injection equipment remains a serious challenge in both developed and developing countries.

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Elizabeth Pisani “Sex, drugs and HIV - let’s get rational”

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Community Pharmacy Services for Substance Misuse Review 2009 Forth Valley NHS

Community  pharmacists  continue  to  make  a  significant  contribution  to  the  care  and treatment  of  people  with  substance  misuse  problems.  Substance  misuse  is  one  of  the locally  negotiated  pharmacy  services  and  as  part  of  the  new  contract  a  national framework  is  in  development  which  will  define  specifications  and  tariff.  Until  these national  directives  are  confirmed,  Forth  Valley  community  pharmacy  substance  misuse services are delivered within the context of local service specifications.

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