HIV Control

Drug use increases the risk of acquiring HIV tremendously. This occurs by risky behaviours accompanying drug use. One major transmission route is shared injection. Drugs also increase sexual disinhibition and increase the likelihood of not performing preventive measures like condom use.

Increase in HIV/AIDS prevalence among injecting drug users does not remain confined to this population. It spreads out to the community by bridging populations like sexual partners and children and other people in the environment of these individuals through various ways of transmission.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is one of the important measures to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS to the larger community in contrast to testing not accompanied by counselling. Counselling is essential to explain the meaning of the test result to the individual. Otherwise, people with risky behaviours testing negative would erroneously conclude that undertaking such behaviour does not result in HIV/AIDS infection and those tested positive would think that they have already lost everything and would not mind their risky behaviours (Continuing risky behaviours in HIV positive individuals often results in increased morbidity of the same). Both groups would continue risky behaviours and the end result of HIV testing with out counselling would be an increase in HIV infection rates. In contrast, through counselling individuals learn on the possible impact of continuing risky behaviours and on possible measures protective of HIV infection and its consequences.

Education and counselling towards HIV/AIDS preventive measures and reduction of collateral damages of drug use is imperative among drug users and their families. The other important component includes the provision of required health items like, needles and syringes, condoms and wound material.

HIV/AIDS prevention among drug users could be carried out in various settings namely in the context of: outreach work, Drop-in Centres (DIC), drug treatment centres, community treatment facilities, prisons, etc.

HIV/AIDS prevention- Actions of UNODC Iran in this regard included the following: programming and planning workshops on HIV/AIDS and drug use, basic training for the establishment of triangular clinics in the prisons system, prevention of HIV/AIDS and the mass media. For the first time outreach systems, information sites and Drop- in centres were established in the governmental and nongovernmental sector in the country.

• Drug treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention workshop
• Implementation of pilot outreach programme for street drug users and individuals with high-risk behaviours
• Implementation of  workshop on Behavioural Consultation Basics and Establishment of Triangle Clinics
• Workshop on HIV prevention and mass media
• Establishment of a DIC in the context of a Medical University
• Establishment of information Sites

Statistics

HIV/AIDS Infected Data

Death Data

AIDS Data