‘Support. Don’t punish’ is a campaign that aims to stop HIV by calling for reform of government actions on drugs.

Support: 

Invest in effective HIV responses for people who use drugs
Programmes that are essential for tackling HIV among people who use drugs must achieve the required scale. These include needle and syringe programmes and methadone programmes, antiretroviral treatment services for HIV positive drug users, counselling and other support services to help people adhere to medicines and to build skills and knowledge in changing behaviour, and legal services to defend  drug users against discrimination.

Don’t punish:

Governments must reform drug laws and policies that impose harsh penalties on people who use drugs
This punitive approach has failed to reduce levels of drug use but has increased stigma and discrimination, impeding people’s access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services that are essential to saving lives and curbing the spread of HIV. Criminalising and incarcerating drug users ruins lives and undermines HIV prevention.

The campaign is part of the Community Action on Harm Reduction project, lead by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, which aims to expand harm reduction services to more than 180,000 people who inject drugs, their partners and children in China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Malaysia.

For more information, please check the microsite of the campaign at http://supportdontpunish.org/ and read the campaign statement below.