Monday, July 19, 2010
This recent US government (PEPFAR) document
click here shows a shift of the US Government towards
harm reduction and towards contemporary international norms for global drug policy, note the following paragraph EXPLICITLY ENDORSING A KEY ROLE FOR METHADONE AND BUPRENORPHINE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT.
Medication-Assisted Treatment
The use of opiods (injecting or noninjecting) rapidly results in opioid dependence. Studies have shown that the most effective treatment for opioid dependence is MAT.43 MAT uses methadone, buprenorphine, buprenorphine/naloxone(suboxone)/naltrexone or other medications/therapies, as they become available, as an effective option for treatment of heroin dependence and preventing the transmission of HIV. MAT has been shown to be an effective treatment for opioid dependence, reducing risk behaviors related to injection drug use, preventing HIV
transmission and improving IDUs adherence to ART,44 but to date, availability of MAT in most PEPFAR countries is very limited. For MAT to have an impact on the overall HIV epidemic, services need to reach, treat, and retain in treatment as many IDUs who seek services as possible.