New HIV Prevention Guidelines Support Syringe Access

Along with more than 50 nongovernmental organizations, the Open Society Foundations praise the office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator for publishing revised HIV-prevention guidelines that address intravenous drug users. Syringe access programs can help avert thousands of new infections and combat the epidemic among injection drug users.

Excluding sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infections due to intravenous drug use account for one-third of new diagnoses, and needle exchange programs have proven to be an effective tool for mitigating this public health concern.