The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is to further develop harm reduction programmes for injecting drug users, one of the groups most at risk of HIV infection because of contaminated needle and syringe use. The announcement came during a two-day meeting of 72 representatives from 36 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in Vienna in the run up to the 18th International AIDS Conference that started on Sunday 18 July in the Austrian capital.
“Compelling humanitarian, public health and human rights rationales oblige us to do everything we can to assist vulnerable injecting drug users. Several Red Cross National Societies in Europe are already implementing successful harm reduction programmes. We will build on recent experience to develop similar programmes in other parts of the world facing increasing numbers of injecting drug users, further fuelling the transmission of HIV,” said Mr Matthias Schmale, Under Secretary General of the IFRC.
“By offering such a highly vulnerable and stigmatized group access to clean syringes and needles and to psychosocial support and care, including pertinent information on prevention, we are not condoning the use of drugs but providing a crucial service to people living on the fringes of society who have nowhere else to turn,” said Dr Getachew Gizaw, head of the IFRC’s global programmes on HIV, TB and malaria.
Thanks to their auxiliary role to government, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies are well placed to discuss with their national authorities how to best reach groups highly vulnerable to HIV infection such as drug users, sex workers, prisoners, men having sex with men, and mobile populations. No major long-term improvement in HIV infection can be achieved without reaching communities that live on the margins and who cannot be reached by mainstream prevention messages.
The IFRC has been involved in harm reduction programmes related to injecting drug use since the early 2000s. It developed programme guidelines for injecting drug users in 2003 with several Eastern European Red Cross societies developing pioneering projects, for example, in Belarus and Ukraine.
Funding for the future
Over the coming months, the IFRC will further integrate tuberculosis and HIV programmes at service delivery level. This will also make community home-based care programmes more cost effective.
This comes at a time when access to funding has been made more difficult. Funds raised for the implementation of HIV programmes in 2009 have fallen by 22 per cent compared to 2008, which raises concerns about the number of people who can be reached in the coming years, especially key high-risk population groups.
The IFRC re-launched its comprehensive HIV programmes to better address the challenges caused by HIV back in 2006. It started with southern Africa, the epicentre of the pandemic, and now involves 56 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies around the globe. A total of 18.6 million people have been reached with prevention messages and psychosocial support, including the promotion of adherence to antiretroviral therapy and treatment for tuberculoses. More than 135,000 children orphaned by AIDS have also been supported. Key to this achievement has been training and engaging 119,000 community-based volunteers who have invested 17.6 million hours in 2009.
Note to media organizations accredited at the Vienna AIDS conference
The IFRC has a significant presence at the Vienna AIDS conference. Additional material is available from the IFRC booth, which is located at the global village (no. 634), including access to a range of audiovisual material. More information is also available through daily video bulletins which will be posted on www.ifrc.org, as well as a selection of stories highlighting the work on harm reduction implemented by the Red Cross in Belarus and Ukraine. All content is available on this page: ~/link/f51a37df1cdf456788096853eed9a6cb.aspxmeetings/events/other/vienna-2010.asp