Suchergebnisse

In Europe today, HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care are needed more than ever. HIV incidence steady in western and central Europe, and dramatically increasing in eastern Europe remains a major challenge to public health in the 21st century. With more than two million people living with HIV/AIDS in the WHO European Region, no country has been spared. This book tells the story of HIV/AIDS in Europe from a broad variety of perspectives: biomedical, social, cultural, economic and political. The authors are leading experts from across the Region and include both the infected and the affected

In the 1990s, HIV/AIDS became a major threat to health, economic stability and human development in countries in eastern Europe and central Asia. Social, political and economic transition exacerbated the structural conditions that allowed HIV/AIDS to flourish as dramatic changes led to increasing drug injection, economic decline and failing health and healthcare systems. There is a need to address the professional and ideological opposition - even in countries considered to be fully functioning democracies - to evidence-based public health interventions like harm reduction, coupled with treating HIV/AIDS for all those in need, if countries are to provide a more effective response.

Abstract: In an exploratory study of HIV risk behaviour and custodial experiences, 183 injecting drug users were interviewed in twelve cities in England, Scotland and Wales. Custodial experience was common (79% in custody at some time), recent (58% in custody since 1987), and sentences were short (for 64% the most recent period of custody lasted one month or less). Injecting during last period in custody was reported by 23%, and 75% of those who injected in custody reported that they had shred needles and syringes. Sexual activity in custody was reported by 6% of the custodial sample. HIV positivity was self‐reported by 12% of the custodial sample. Of the custodial group, those who were HIV positive were more like& than the HIV negative group to report injecting and syringe‐sharing in custody. Outside custody fin the community) many (46%) had shared syringes during the previous four weeks, 83% had sexual partners during the previous three months, and 50% of these had sexual partners who did not themselves inject drugs. The findings indicate the potential for HIV infection to occur within custodial settings.

In 1987 experimental schemes for distributing injecting equipment to intravenous drug users to help prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus were started by the government. After six months the schemes were found to have been reasonably successful in attracting clients but were less successful in keeping them. It has been shown that equipment can be distributed to drug users on an exchange basis. Many of the clients who were attracted to these schemes had had no treatment or other help for their drug problems.