Improving the Health of People Who Use Drugs and People in Recovery Is Essential for Ending the HIV Epidemic
Apr 01, 2021
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Julia Zigman
The O’Neill Institute at Georgetown Law released a Big Ideas brief and accompanying one-pager highlighting policy actions necessary to improve the health of people who use drugs and work towards ending the HIV epidemic.
From the O’Neill Institute:
“HIV and drug use are inextricably intertwined. Today, one in ten new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. are attributed to people who inject drugs, with other forms of drug use contributing to additional transmissions. New HIV cases among people who use drugs increased 9% from 2014 to 2018. Success at achieving the goals of the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative in the United States depends on improving the health of people who use drugs.
The following policy actions are recommended: (1) Develop tailored plans with the meaningful participation of people who use drugs to respond to the unique challenges in each jurisdiction; (2) Deploy effective interventions at greater scale; and (3) Decriminalize substance use and re-orient drug use policy to enhance prevention, harm reduction, and treatment of addiction.”
Learn more and read the rest of the Big Ideas in Brief reports from the O’Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law’s National HIV/AIDS Initiative here.
About Julia Zigman
Pronouns: she/her
Julia Zigman is a Program Analyst on the NACCHO HIV, STI, & Viral Hepatitis team. Julia focuses primarily on NACCHO’s Ending the HIV Epidemic portfolio and is a lead staff member for the HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis Workgroup. Learn more about these programs here.
