Intravenous drug use accounts for the majority of HIV cases in China, Iran,
Afghanistan, Nepal, the Baltic states, and all of Central Asia, as well as much of
Southeast Asia and South America. In Russia, where there are now more cases of
HIV than in North America, as many as 80% of infections are attributed to
injection drug use.1
"A large body of scientific evidence suggests that the free provision of clean
needles curbs the spread of AIDS among drug users without increasing rates of
addiction," said the US Surgeon General.2
Needle exchanges have been
endorsed by the AMA, the American Public Health Association, the National
Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization.
Despite these ringing recommendations, the State Department just sent a blunt
message to the UN office responsible for drug education saying essentially: Shut
up about needle exchanges or lose funding. Since the US is one of the major
donors to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the UN quickly folded. All
references to harm reduction approaches are being
deleted.3
The New York Times summed it up: "Washington's antipathy toward needle
exchanges is a triumph of ideology over science, logic and compassion. The
United States should help pay for these important programs. If it cannot bring
itself to do so, it should at least allow the rest of the world to get on with saving
millions of lives."
Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.CommonSenseDrugPolicy.org,
www.DrugWarFacts.org
H. Michael Gray, Chair; Robert E. Field, Co-Chair
info@csdp.org
1. Human Rights Watch, "U.S. Gag on Needle Exchange Harms U.N. AIDS Efforts
2. US Surgeon General Dr. David Schacter, HHS 2000
3. The Observer, Feb 6, 2005, "US Cash Threat to AIDS War" 4. New York Times editorial, 2-26-05
