Needle and Syringe Programmes

A harm reduction practice that provides sterile injecting equipment to people who inject drugs, through fixed sites, outreach and other delivery models. The WHO, UNAIDS and UNODC operational guide describes the programmes as a core harm reduction intervention, highly effective in preventing HIV and hepatitis C transmission, reducing skin and soft tissue infections, and providing an entry point for overdose prevention and broader health support. High-coverage provision of needles and syringes in Europe has been associated with a 76 percent reduction in hepatitis C acquisition. WHO first recommended the programmes for HIV prevention in 2003; the guide is frank that coverage remains inadequate in most countries and that criminalization and stigmatization are persistent barriers, so the practice remains contested policy territory in many places.