The Open Society Institute's International Harm Reduction Development Program (IHRD) hosts a breakfast satellite session during the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto. The forum will launch Delivering HIV Care and Treatment for People Who Use Drugs: Lessons from Research and Practice, OSI's new publication on treatment for injecting drug users (IDUs). Copies of the book will be available to all who attend the session.

Ten percent of the world’s HIV cases are among IDUs. Yet in nearly all countries—including those where they comprise a significant majority of all cases—IDUs have been disproportionately less likely to have access to anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and other medical care. In many developing/transitional countries with injection-driven epidemics, ARV has been provided to drug users last if it has been offered to them at all, despite evidence that with appropriate support, IDUs can achieve adherence and treatment outcomes comparable to those of any other patient groups.

ARV for IDUs: Lessons Learned and Obstacles on the Way Forward

• Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, French Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and Transmissible Diseases
• Dr. Joep Lange, Professor of Medicine at the Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Director of the National AIDS Therapy Evaluation Centre, Amsterdam

Barriers to HIV Treatment for IDUs in Russia; Models of Peer Counseling and Patient Outreach

• Alexandra Volgina, HIV-Positive Peer Counselor, Trainer, and Activist for drug users’ access to treatment, Russia

Moderator: Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, Director, International Harm Reduction Development Program, Open Society Institute

Location

Level 200
Skills Building Room 6
Old Room 203CD

A copy of the invitation, in Russian and English, is available below.