The Indian Drug Users’ Forum (IDUF) today stated that the HIV prevalence among injecting drug users in Meghalaya is higher than the national average.
According to the forum, the report on “Magnitude of Substance Use in India 2019”, published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, suggests that there is an estimate of 8,54,326 people who inject drugs in India, of which 1,49,866, that is, 18 per cent, are from Northeast.
“Meghalaya is estimated to have a number of 11,420 people injecting drugs. The HIV prevalence among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in India is at 9.03 per cent which is the highest among any typology. Meghalaya has 11.48 per cent of HIV prevalence among injecting drug users, which is above the national average,” the forum stated.
Meghalaya is the second highest HIV prevalence state in the North East observed among Injecting Drug Users after Mizoram (source NACO Sankalak Fifth Edition report), the forum said.
The IDUF also stated that based on their experience as drug users and evidence generated by various government and non- governmental organisations, it is learnt that when punitive measures are taken to control drug use over public health and human rights, there is a profound impact on the health and well-being of our communities, leading to increased rates of HIV, Viral Hepatitis, overdose, and other drug- related harms.
“It closes the door for those drug users and their families to openly seek help to access harm reduction services, treatment and rehabilitation,” it stated.
The forum suggested that Primary Drug Prevention policies need to be developed both at National and State level to empower youth and equip them with knowledge, skills and resources to say “No to Drugs” and become agents of change in their communities, advocating for drug prevention initiatives and amplifying their voices in the conversation.
While there is a a need to invest more on research to understand various behavioural and psychological issues faced by adolescents so as to develop a plan/policy to address their needs, the forum added, “Early intervention should be planned for people who are in their initial drug use, so as to discourage them from becoming dependent on drugs and also minimise the harms associated with drug use.”
The IDUF further suggested that for those who are already dependent on drug use, there is a need to treat them from a public health perspective, as drug addiction is defined as a disease by the American Medical Association and World Health Organisation.
“There are thousands of drug users who have avail drug treatment services and are doing well in their lives and are actively contributing back to the society,” it stated.
