UN War on Drugs Policy Lacks Critical Measures for HIV Prevention

A statement by Human Rights Watch, the International AIDS Society, and the International Harm Reduction Association has called for nations to reject the UN war on drugs policy.

The groups said that UN Political Declaration on Drugs, designed to guide drug policy for the next 10 years, lacks critically important measures for treating and stemming the spread of HIV, and that respect for human rights and HIV prevention should be at the heart of the policy, but that critical elements had been stripped from the final declaration.

What is at issue is a series of measures known collectively as "harm reduction services," which have been endorsed by UN health and drug-control agencies, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.

Measures that are essential to address HIV among people who use drugs include needle and syringe exchange and medication-assisted therapy both inside and outside prisons. The groups noted that a wealth of evidence proves harm reduction is essential to HIV prevention for people who use drugs.

Up to 30 percent of all HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa occur via unsafe injecting drug use. The groups said there is clear evidence that harm reduction interventions can halt or even reverse HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs.

"This political declaration fails public health," said Craig McClure, executive director of the International AIDS Society. "Coming less than 12 months after UN member states convened a high level meeting in New York to restate the international commitment to fight HIV, the denial of any reference in the declaration to life-saving harm reduction programs is unacceptable and unconscionable."

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References:
1. Nations Should Reject UN Drug Policy. Human Rights Watch Press Release.
2. Image by xmelissa.