Harm Reduction

The term harm reduction refers to polices and programs that aim to prevent or reduce the harms associated with injecting drug use.

India is witnessing a steady increase in injecting drug related HIV epidemics in both numbers and locations. Though 87% infections are attributed to unprotected sex, injecting drug use (IDU) remains a major driver of HIV across the country. The last several years have seen a rising body of evidence on the effectiveness of prevention programs for IDUs including sterile needle syringe, oral substitution therapy, and education and outreach services. These programs are founded on a harm reduction approach, in that they aim to reduce harms associated with drug use without eliminating drug use per se.

Read more: India Harm Reduction Network