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Injecting Drug Users Reference Group: The Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use

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Tags:
Date Commenced:
03/2007
Project Supporters:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC);
World Health Organisation (WHO);
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)

Drug Type:
Project Members: 
Project Main Description: 

The Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use was established in 2002 and provides independent advice to the United Nations system on matters related to injecting drug use and HIV. The Group consists of experts from around the world and includes researchers, clinicians and representatives from civil society organisations.

The operation of the Reference Group is coordinated by a Secretariat. The Secretariat undertakes research activities on behalf, and with guidance, input and the endorsement of the Reference Group. From March 2007, the Secretariat of the Reference Group was based at NDARC within the University of New South Wales.

Project Collaborators: External: 

Dr Alex Wodak
Alcohol and Drug Services, St Vincent’s Hospital

Dr Hammad Ali
Kirby Institute, UNSW

Dr Bradley Mathers
Kirby Institute, UNSW

Aims: 

The overall objective of the Reference Group is to advise relevant UNAIDS (the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS) co-sponsors, especially the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UNAIDS Secretariat on injecting drug use, on effective approaches to HIV prevention and care among injecting drug users. The Reference Group comprises individuals selected for their expertise in the epidemiology of injecting drug use, HIV prevention or treatment. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre was appointed to undertake the role of Secretariat of the Reference Group for 2007 - 2010.

Design and Method: 
The primary tasks of the Secretariat include:
  • Coordination of the Reference Group
  • Management of key-indicator data holdings which are used to monitor global trends in injecting drug use and HIV as well as coverage of HIV prevention and care for injecting drug users
  • Provision of ad-hoc technical support to UNAIDS co-sponsor agencies
  • Production of the Reference Group’s bi-annual reports (global and regional trends in the epidemiology of injecting drug use and HIV, and estimates of HIV prevention and care service coverage for injecting drug users)
  • Production of thematic research papers on topics of current concern
  • Management of the Reference Group website.
Progress/Update: 
Since October 2010 the Secretariat of the Reference Group has been based at the Medical Research Council, South Africa.
Output: 

Books

The Secretariat of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, Consensus Statement of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use 2010, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
 
 

Peer-reviewed publications

Bradley M Mathers, Louisa Degenhardt, Hammad Ali, Lucas Wiessing, Matthew Hickman, Richard P Mattick, Bronwyn Myers, Atul Ambekar and Steffanie A Strathdee for the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, HIV prevention, treatment, and care services for people who inject drugs: a systematic review of global, regional, and national coverageThe Lancet (2010) 375: 9719: 1014-1028, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60232-2
 
Country reports provide detailed information on the calculation of estimates and the references cited.
View the supplementary web appendix that accompanies this article.
 
 
Bradley M Mathers, Louisa Degenhardt, Benjamin Phillips, Lucas Wiessing, Matthew Hickman, Steffanie A Strathdee, Alex Wodak, Samiran Panda, Mark Tyndall, Abdalla Toufik and Richard P Mattick for the 2007 Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, Global epidemiology of injecting drug use and HIV among people who inject drugs: a systematic reviewThe Lancet (2008), 372: 9651: 1733-1745, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61311-2
 
View the appendices that accompany this article.
 
 
Louisa Degenhardt, Bradley Mathers, Mauro Guarinieri, Samiran Panda, Benjamin Phillips, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Mark Tyndall, Lucas Wiessing, Alex Wodak and John Howard for the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, Meth/amphetamine use and associated HIV: Implications for global policy and public healthInternational Journal of Drug Policy (2010), 21:5: 347-358, doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2009.11.007
 
 

Reference Group Thematic Paper Series

Roberts A, Mathers BM, Degenhardt L, on behalf of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, Women who inject drugs: a review of their risks, experiences and needs, Reference Group Thematic Paper Series 2010, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
 
Louisa Degenhardt, Briony Larance, Bradley Mathers, Tasnim Azim, Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Richard Mattick, Samiran Panda, Abdalla Toufik, Mark Tyndall, Lucas Wiessing and Alex Wodak on behalf of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and injecting drug use, Benefits and risks of pharmaceutical opioids: Essential treatment and diverted medication. A global review of availability, extra-medical use, injection and the association with HIV, Reference Group Thematic Paper Series 2007, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
 
Louisa Degenhardt, Bradley Mathers, Mauro Guarinieri, Samiran Panda, Benjamin Phillips, Steffanie Strathdee, Mark Tyndall, Lucas Wiessing, Alex Wodak, on behalf of the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and injecting drug use, The global epidemiology of methamphetamine injection: A review of the evidence on use and associations with HIV and other harm, Reference Group Thematic Paper Series 2007, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
 
 
 

Presentations

Mathers BM, Degenhardt L, Ali H, Wiessing L, Hickman M, Mattick RP, Myers B, Ambekar A and Strathdee SA, for the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, How successful have global efforts to expand HIV prevention for IDUs been?: results of a global systematic review, International Harm Reduction Association's (IHRA) 21st International Conference, Liverpool, UK April 25-29 2010.
 
 

Other

Louisa Degenhardt, Bradley Mathers, Miriam Sabin (2011), We can protect drug users from becoming infected with HIV: Context and progress of the global response to HIV among people who inject drugs, Sydney: National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales.
Drug Type: 
Project Status: 
Completed
Year Completed: 
2010