Expertos abogan por la distribución de agujas y preservativos en las prisiones para frenar el VIH

El tratamiento de sustitución de opiáceos y las medidas de reducción de daños son cruciales para combatir el VIH y otras infecciones en las cárceles de Eurasia. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

Suscríbase a las Alertas mensuales del IDPC para recibir información sobre cuestiones relacionadas con políticas sobre drogas.

"We support opioid substitution treatment and harm reduction measures, including needle exchange programmes. These measures are crucial, otherwise we cannot tackle HIV and other infections in prisons," Stefan Enggist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said during an international conference on addiction in prisons organised by the Council of Europe in Bucharest.

In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of people living with HIV surged by 250 percent from 2001 to 2010, with Russia and Ukraine accounting for almost 90 percent of the region's epidemic, UNAIDS figures show.

Prison populations are among the most vulnerable. Estimates released by AVERT, an international HIV and AIDS charity, show that 55,000 out of Russia's 846,000 inmates were infected with HIV in 2010. In Estonia, four studies revealed HIV prevalence in prisons ranging from 8.8 to 23.9 percent.

However, only 60 prisons around the world conduct needle and syringe exchange programmes, said Heino Stover, a professor at Frankfurt University.

Click here to read the full article.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.