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Forty-two percent of Philadelphians currently living with AIDS contracted the disease through sharing used syringes and other injection equipment. Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) has created a program to help reduce the spread of AIDS and other blood-borne diseases among drug users and sex workers. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about HIV and AIDS, drug use and syringe exchange.
Doesn't PPP encourage drug users to keep using by giving them syringes? No. Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV infection and other blood-borne diseases. By collecting and disposing used syringes and distributing sterile ones, we help drug users and sex workers protect themselves and their sexual partners from HIV and other blood-borne diseases. Numerous medical and professional organizations have studied syringe exchange and concluded that it does not encourage drug use. Rather, it is a highly effective way to prevent the spread of HIV. It also creates a point of contact to link drug users and sex workers with drug treatment, medical care, legal advocacy, behavioral health care, housing, job training and other social services. Does syringe exchange really reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis? Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have been studying the effectiveness of our syringe exchange program since 1991. Among the original 415 injection drug users recruited for the study in 1989, reported rates of needle-sharing have shown a steady and significant decline as have new HIV infections. During the first two years of the study (prior to the establishment of a syringe exchange program in Philadelphia), the rate of new HIV infections among injection drug users was among the highest in the country. Among injectors followed during the eight years of study, the rate of new HIV infections dropped from 6.8% per year to less than 0.05% per year. Moreover, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala has said “A meticulous scientific review has now proven that needle exchange programs can reduce the transmission of HIV and save lives without losing ground in the battle against illegal drugs.” topWhy drug users, when so many other people are affected by AIDS? Because they need it the most! Since the onset of the AIDS epidemic, injection drug use has directly or indirectly accounted for 29% of all AIDS cases in the United States . In Philadelphia, 50% of AIDS cases among women and 33% of AIDS cases among men are the result of shared needles or of sex with an infected injection drug user . The most vulnerable members of society are disproportionately affected by the injection-related spread of HIV. Particularly vulnerable are women of color. Although African-American women make up only 12% of women in the US, they account for 50% of IDU-related AIDS cases among women. Similarly, Latina women account for 25% of IDU-related AIDS cases among women, but only 10% of all women in the United States. topYes. Our Syringe Exchange Program was authorized by the Mayor and the Board of Health under the powers granted them by the City Charter to protect public health. The City's lawyers and other legal experts concluded that the state's drug paraphernalia law never intended to interfere with legitimate disease control activities carried out by publicly-funded and authorized programs like PPP. Other cities across the state and country, including Pittsburgh, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles have also authorized needle exchange programs. |
