HIV Prevention Funding to Be Cut

Last Updated on Friday, 30 March 2012 17:25 Written by HIV Alliance News Friday, 30 March 2012 12:37

While most women are infected through their partners, 20-30% of new infections in women are through injection drug use. Since the 1990s, the US HIV infection rate among injection drug users has dropped by half, due to needle exchanges like ours. Injection drug use now accounts for only 9% of new infections in the U.S.

As of July 1, 2012, funding for prevention work in Oregon's rural counties will be cut - to zero. Greece cut their needle exchanges and public health budget and, in less than ONE year (2010 to 2011), has seen an increase in HIV incidence in injection drug users of 1,250% and of 52% in the general public.  Here at HIV Alliance, we help identify the 20% of HIV infected people in the US who don't yet know that they are infected through our robust testing program.  We help them avoid infection in the first place, through our innovative and effective outreach and prevention to those most at risk and our education workshops in schools and treatment facilities.

•    HIV Alliance has collected 189,301 needles from our community since July 2011.
•    HIV Alliance has tested 395 highest-risk people in our community since July 2011.

HIV transmission via sharing injection materials has declined by 80% overall since the early days of the epidemic

There was an article in the Guardian UK about the impact of cuts to prevention programs in Greece. Please click here to read the article.