SAG Intervention at PCB Thematic Session on Prevention

Transcript from the SAG Intervention at the PCB Thematic Session on Prevention:

"I am speaking today on behalf of the Strategic Advisory Group to the United Nations on HIV and Drug Use, or the "SAG" as it is more commonly known. The SAG was established in 2014, and is comprised of representatives from UN agencies, donor governments, networks of people who use drugs, and civil society networks from around the world, all with a specific interest and focus on ensuring a scaled up and sustainable harm reduction response that is effective in preventing HIV transmission among people who inject drugs and is firmly rooted in the principles of human rights. As such, we welcome this thematic session on prevention, and want to highlight three main issues today.

Firstly, the SAG notes with grave concern the continued increase in HIV transmission amongst people who inject drugs. The 2011 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS committed to reducing transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs by 50 percent by 2015. Yet, UNAIDS now estimates that the number of new cases amongst our community has risen from 114,000 in 2011 to 152,000 in 2015.

This is a 33% increase, during a period when governments committed to cut transmission in half."

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