As a wonderful Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Saturnalia present, Congress has finally passed the national budget that also removes the ban on federal funding for needle exchange.
As I've said before needle exchange is an effective tool to improve the lives of people who inject drugs.
Here is more: needle exchange has been thoroughly reviewed for (1) impact on HIV among injecting drug users, (2) uptake by injecting drug users of drug treatment programs, (3) impact on initiation of others to drugs and injecting, (4) impact on the neighborhood where the needle exchange point is placed.
What have the studies shown? Needle and Syringe Exchange Points: (1) reduce HIV incidence among injecting drug users- which also reduces the potential for HIV to be passed on to non-injectors through unprotected sex, (2) increase uptake of drug treatment programs, (3) DO NOT increase initiation among non-injectors and non-users to injecting drugs,(4)DO NOT hurt the neighborhoods around the points.
Needle and Syringe Exchange points are one of the few interventions that have been proven to effectively reduce HIV transmission rates among injecting drug users. There are really not many to choose from for this group. Finally, public health professionals funded by the US federal government can use these effective tools to address HIV among vulnerable groups.
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