Harm reduction in MENA: where do we stand?

In the past decade, national and international interest in harm reduction in the MENA has increased. As a result, there has been an increase in research, improvements in disease surveillance, and establishment of significant health policies throughout the region.

What needs to be done?

• Scale up advocacy and harm reduction practices. Specifically in countries with a very high prevalence of HIV and large amount of PWIDs, like Egypt, Pakistan and Morocco.

• Improve data collection and surveillance by increasing research and/or collaboration among researchers in order to create usable sets of data. Data is most unreliable or unavailable in Yemen, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

• Scale up surveillance of HCV, HBV, and tuberculosis among PWIDs. These diseases are highly prevalent in certain areas in the region and data is extremely limited