WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS technical guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users – 2012 revision (Sólo en inglés)

Overview

First published in 2009, the ‘technical guide’ or ‘target setting guide’ was the first United Nations document to define a comprehensive package of interventions for harm reduction.

Since the publication of the first version, the Technical Guide has been endorsed by high-level political bodies including the UN General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board . In addition, donor agencies, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) and the United States of America President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), have committed to using this framework.

Improvements in the revised guide include:

• distinction between drug-user-specific interventions and general interventions in the comprehensive package;
• guidance on which indicators are most important and should be prioritised, with greater focus on drug-user specific interventions, such as needle and syringe programs, opioid substitution therapy as well as HIV testing and counselling and ART;
• an expanded framework for assessing the quality of key interventions; and,
• greater guidance on applying the framework for setting targets, measuring the implementation of interventions and on how to report and analyse findings.

These revisions were informed by a pilot study of the first guide in five countries undertaken in 2010, a global review of available data and relevant data collection systems, and consultations with experts from around the world.