Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Please sign the Syringe Exchange Program Ban Position Statement
Syringe Exchange Program Ban Position Statement
Position Statement on U.S. Congressional ban on the use of federal funds to support syringe exchange programs
We, the undersigned, condemn the December 2011 reinstatement of the U.S. Congressional ban on the use of federal funds to support syringe exchange programs (SEPs). The ban on U.S. federal funds for SEPs was enacted in 1988, but had been repealed by Congress in 2009, after 8 U.S. federally funded reports and a plethora of international research consistently showed that SEPs can reduce syringe-sharing, HIV prevalence and incidence and are cost-effective.
Furthermore, there is overwhelming consensus on a core package of comprehensive HIV prevention services for people who inject drugs, which includes SEPs in addition to drug treatment (including medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence), HIV testing and counseling, antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive people who inject drugs, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, condom programs for people who inject drugs and their sexual partners, targeted information, education, and communication for people who inject drugs and their sexual partners, vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment of viral hepatitis, and diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. Denying SEPs access to U.S. federal funds, severely limits the provision of these other critical services that usually are offered at SEPs and will prevent the US from reaching its national and international targets on HIV prevention.
After nearly three decades of extensive research, there is no convincing scientific evidence that SEPs are accompanied by serious negative consequences, including increased illicit drug use, crime, injection frequency, multi-person use of contaminated syringes, initiating of drug use, recruiting of new drug injectors, or discarding of syringes in public places. Instead, there is convincing scientific evidence that SEPs have been associated with cost-effective reductions in and cessation of injection drug use and increased enrollment in drug treatment programs.
The reinstated ban on U.S. federal support for SEPs directly conflicts with current policies of the U.S government, including PEPFAR, the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This policy change will undermine the recent call from the Obama Administration for an AIDS-free generation, and is a major setback for HIV prevention both domestically and globally. The ban will also prevent HIV prevention researchers from meeting their ethical obligation to provide trial participants with best standard of care. Given that people who inject drugs account for 30% of global HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa, we urge the U.S Congress to immediately repeal the U.S. ban on the use of federal funds to support SEPs, which we consider a deadly public policy.
sign here
AFTER you sign,
Please remind yourself that it is time to stop focusing on HIV prevention as the primary purpose of syringe access. HIV prevention is one of numerous, critical reasons to support syringe access. Even an HIV cure would not reduce the need for or importance of syringe access.
(See 11-15-2011, for one example)
Position Statement on U.S. Congressional ban on the use of federal funds to support syringe exchange programs
We, the undersigned, condemn the December 2011 reinstatement of the U.S. Congressional ban on the use of federal funds to support syringe exchange programs (SEPs). The ban on U.S. federal funds for SEPs was enacted in 1988, but had been repealed by Congress in 2009, after 8 U.S. federally funded reports and a plethora of international research consistently showed that SEPs can reduce syringe-sharing, HIV prevalence and incidence and are cost-effective.
Furthermore, there is overwhelming consensus on a core package of comprehensive HIV prevention services for people who inject drugs, which includes SEPs in addition to drug treatment (including medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence), HIV testing and counseling, antiretroviral therapy for HIV-positive people who inject drugs, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, condom programs for people who inject drugs and their sexual partners, targeted information, education, and communication for people who inject drugs and their sexual partners, vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment of viral hepatitis, and diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. Denying SEPs access to U.S. federal funds, severely limits the provision of these other critical services that usually are offered at SEPs and will prevent the US from reaching its national and international targets on HIV prevention.
After nearly three decades of extensive research, there is no convincing scientific evidence that SEPs are accompanied by serious negative consequences, including increased illicit drug use, crime, injection frequency, multi-person use of contaminated syringes, initiating of drug use, recruiting of new drug injectors, or discarding of syringes in public places. Instead, there is convincing scientific evidence that SEPs have been associated with cost-effective reductions in and cessation of injection drug use and increased enrollment in drug treatment programs.
The reinstated ban on U.S. federal support for SEPs directly conflicts with current policies of the U.S government, including PEPFAR, the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. This policy change will undermine the recent call from the Obama Administration for an AIDS-free generation, and is a major setback for HIV prevention both domestically and globally. The ban will also prevent HIV prevention researchers from meeting their ethical obligation to provide trial participants with best standard of care. Given that people who inject drugs account for 30% of global HIV infections outside of sub-Saharan Africa, we urge the U.S Congress to immediately repeal the U.S. ban on the use of federal funds to support SEPs, which we consider a deadly public policy.
sign here
AFTER you sign,
Please remind yourself that it is time to stop focusing on HIV prevention as the primary purpose of syringe access. HIV prevention is one of numerous, critical reasons to support syringe access. Even an HIV cure would not reduce the need for or importance of syringe access.
(See 11-15-2011, for one example)
Friday, February 3, 2012
question...
Why are gay men who have no anal sex
a massively higher funding priority than
women who have unprotected anal sex with strangers?
I am genuinely curious.
If there is a practical explanation, I want to know what it is.
If there is not, go ahead and add this to my list.
a massively higher funding priority than
women who have unprotected anal sex with strangers?
I am genuinely curious.
If there is a practical explanation, I want to know what it is.
If there is not, go ahead and add this to my list.
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