UNODC campaign focuses on HIV and drug use

Over 5 million people worldwide have been infected with HIV from using contaminated injecting equipment. In many parts of the world, injecting drug use is the driving force behind the spread of the virus. This finding is based on injecting drug users who have been infected by sharing needles; it does not account for the sexual partners of drug users, who are also exposed, as HIV moves from the drug using community into the general population.

Added to this disturbing trend, over half of all new HIV infections worldwide are among 15- to 24-year-olds. Because youth are often at a higher risk for drug use, UNODC is targeting this population with a new campaign to raise awareness about drug use and its connection to the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The slogan:

is the message UNODC is using to provoke youth to consider the implications of using drugs, and particularly injecting drugs.

"The world can no longer afford to ignore the enormity of the HIV epidemic", said Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC Executive Director. "The time has come to strike back at a killer that is transmitted by drug use and sex, as well as by ignorance and denial. We have to talk openly to the people most likely to contract HIV/AIDS, especially young boys and girls".

UNODC's public information materials for this campaign include video spots that link the sharing of needles to the spread of HIV, and the risks of having unprotected sex with injecting drug users. Radio spots in over 10 languages featuring the slogan and facts about the spread of HIV, posters and fact sheets have also been designed to raise awareness and educate people about the relationship between drug use and HIV.

All public information materials and more information about the connection between drugs and HIV are available on thinkaids.com, a web site sponsored by UNODC.