AEGiS-14IAC: Harm reduction strategies to prevent the spread of HIV among idus were finally implemented in the biggest city of Brazil.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Harm reduction strategies to prevent the spread of HIV among idus were finally implemented in the biggest city of Brazil.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. E11470)

Trigueiros DP, Bueno R, Abbate C, Souza CR, Nunes R, Turienzo G, Jorge EM, Mesquita F
STD/AIDS Coordination of Sao Paulo City Health Department, Sao Paulo, Brazil

ISSUE: the control of HIV epidemic among and from injecting drug users, cannot renounce of the Harm Reduction Strategies. This presentation is about the history and importance of the implementation of HRS in the City of Sao Paulo, the biggest one in Brazil, in the year of 2001. Implement Harm Reduction Strategies as an official huge City Policy.

DESCRIPTION: Sao Paulo has around 11 million of inhabitants and also the biggest AIDS epidemic in Brazil, considering absolute number. Almost 25% of the total AIDS cases in the city are related to the use of injectable drugs. Besides that picture it was necessary a Political change in the local government after elections to finally implement Harm Reduction Strategies, the best way to control the epidemic among and from IDUs implemented in other cities in Brazil 12 years before.

ISSUES: we implemented Harm Reduction Strategies including needle and syringe exchange in 19 STD/AIDS Health Centers after the training of 700 healths professional in the skill to deal with injecting drug users. The invisible epidemic should up its magnitude and made the possible to extend the necessary intervention to control the epidemic among and from IDUs.

RECOMMENDATIONS: it was clearly important to confront the conservative forces and the prejudice against drug users in order to make it possible the implementation of the Harm Reduction Strategies in the biggest City of Brazil.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV, HIV Infections, Harm Reduction, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Seropositivity, Disease Outbreaks, Cities, HIV Seroprevalence, Syringes, Prejudice, Public Policy, Research, BrazilKWDaegis,hiv,hivinfections,harmreduction,acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome,hivseropositivity,diseaseoutbreaks,cities,hivseroprevalence,syringes,prejudice,publicpolicy,research,brazil

020707
E11470

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.