Declaration of Dakar on harm reduction among people who inject drugs in West Africa

The improvements recorded in the HIV control may conceal the weaknesses suffered by the vulnerable and marginalized populations: sex workers (SWs), men who have sex with men (MSM), prisoners, and People Who Inject Drugs (PWD). Among those members of the key populations, People Who Inject Drugs remain more invisible and less known in Africa.

Out of the forty-nine (49) Sub Sahara African countries, only sixteen (16) of them have data on injecting drug use. Meanwhile, out of 2.3 million People Who Inject Drugs who are identified in this part of the continent, 564,000 of them are living with HIV.

The Regional Programme of Harm Reduction about HIV, Tuberculosis and other Co-Morbidities, and Human Right Promotion for People Who Inject Drugs (PARECO) which is implemented by ANCS (Alliance Nationale des Communautés pour la Santé) in five (5) West African countries (Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and Senegal) including the Republic of Guinea and Mali, in collaboration with the implementing partners, and funded by the Global Fund, aims at improving access to Harm Reduction services and human right promotion for People Who Inject Drugs in West Africa.