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IDSA, HIVMA voice support for syringe exchange programs
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The Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association have expressed support for improving access to sterile injection equipment and drug replacement therapy for people who inject drugs.
The organizations are urging Congress to support ending the federal ban on funding for syringe exchange programs, according to an updated policy statement, as injection drug use is a major route for transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis and bloodborne pathogens.
Joel Gallant
According to a joint IDSA/HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) press release, the ban has been included in the annual spending bill for health and human services since the 1980s, but was briefly lifted from 2009 to 2011.
“We urge members of Congress to support a cost-effective, evidenced-based prevention tool by ending the ban on federal funds for syringe exchange programs,” Joel Gallant, MD, MPH, FIDSA, chair of the HIVMA, said in the release.
IDSA and HIVMA support efforts to end the federal funding ban, increase access to drug replacement therapy, reform and decriminalize syringe possession and paraphernalia laws, provide over-the-counter syringe access and establish community-based syringe access and disposal programs.
Barbara Murray
“In addition to contributing to a decrease in incidence of HIV and viral hepatitis, syringe exchange programs also provide a point of access to health care for underserved populations,” IDSA President Barbara Murray, MD, FIDSA, said in the release. “By providing condoms, counseling, testing and entry into drug abuse treatment, syringe exchange programs do much more than provide clean needles. They are a critical component of an effective response to a major public health crisis that continues to increase.”