- Authors
- Ambekar, Atul and B. M. Tripathi
- Title
- Size Estimation of Injecting Drug Use in Punjab and Haryana
- Imprint
- UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, New Delhi, January 2008, 44 pp
- Url
- http://www.unaids.org.in/new /Publications_InjectingDrugUseOnTheRiseInPunjabHaryana.pdf
- Abstract
"Injecting drug use (IDU) contributes significantly to the spread of the HIV epidemic in India. The sharing of injection equipment among drug users represents one of the highest risks of HIV transmission and prevalence is higher among IDU than other groups. In India it was found to be above 10 per cent of drug users tested in sentinel sites in 2006.
Until recently, it was often believed that injecting drug use was mostly confined to northeastern states and large cities of the country. However, a growing number of reports from educators, social workers and civil society organizations mentioned that this practice was spreading, notably in states of the North of India.
A countrywide survey conducted in 2006 by SPYM in 300 sites showed that injecting drug use could be found in several sites of Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana. This finding led UNAIDS to ask SPYM to conduct a rigorous study in specific districts of thee states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The methodology and technical support was provided by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS."