WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users

This document provides technical guidance to countries on setting ambitious, but achievable national targets for scaling up towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (IDUs). This Technical guide provides countries with: A framework and process to set national targets; A comprehensive package of core interventions for IDUs; A set of indicators and indicative targets (or benchmarks) to be used to set programmatic objectives, and monitor and evaluate HIV interventions for IDUs; Examples of data sources. This framework could be applied by countries that wish to follow a systematic review process when setting, reviewing or adjusting targets for HIV prevention among IDUs. This Technical guide and the process outlined above are intended to assist agencies and individuals involved in planning programmes for universal access. They can also be used for other purposes such as preparing proposals for or reporting on programmes to various donor organizations including the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), the European Commission (EC) or other multilateral and bilateral funding sources. Although primarily intended for national target-setting, this Guide will also be useful in setting targets for regions in large countries (for example, states/ provinces in China, provinces in Viet Nam, or oblasts in the Russian Federation), for smaller geographical areas such as cities and for specific settings such as prisons. It is important to define the scope of the areas or settings under consideration. While this Technical guide focuses primarily on IDUs, it may also be useful for setting targets for HIV interventions targeting problematic drug users who do not inject but who are at risk of starting to do so. This version of the Guide represents an initial attempt to develop a framework for assessing countries progress in delivering a comprehensive package of core interventions. This framework and the recommended target levels are based on the limited body of evidence currently available in this area. Over time, as more evidence becomes available and as experience is gained in the field from applying this framework, this Guide will be revised accordingly. A monitoring and evaluation reference group (MERG) convened by UNAIDS is in the process of further developing methods and guidelines for measuring the coverage and quality of HIV prevention and care services for at-risk populations, including IDUs. It is anticipated that these efforts will complement and enhance this Technical guide. This Technical guide is scheduled to be reviewed and revised in 2010.