Multicentre operational research on drug use & harm reduction among people living with HIV/AIDS in the Middle East & North Africa region

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the access to Harm Reduction (HR), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment, care and support services remains limited among People Living with HIV/AIDS-(PLHIV)-People Who Use Drugs (PWUDs)/People Who Inject Drugs (PWIDs). To acquire a comprehensive understanding of the drug use and HR situation among PLHIV-WUDs/WIDs, a Multicentre Operational Research (OR) was conducted by the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) with support from the Global Fund. A.

Research Objectives: i) To explore the drug use context among PLHIV-WUDs/WIDs; ii) To measure the levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, harms of drug use, and HR and healthcare services; iii) To identify HR and healthcare services and service provision; iv) To define the reasons leading to stigma and discrimination; v) To identify barriers and facilitators hindering/facilitating access to HR, HIV treatment, care and support services; and vi) To provide recommendations for improved HR and healthcare services for PLHIV-WUDs/WIDs in the region

OR subjects included 230 participants: 149 PLHIV-PWUDs/PWIDs and 81 key informants (KIs) from Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Data were collected by trained fieldwork teams through focus group discussions (FGDs), case studies and semi-structured interviews and analysed using a socioecological framework.

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