Young people who inject drugs in Mozambique: should we emphasize them in the National Harm Reduction Plan?

Abstract

Mozambique has one of the highest burdens of HIV globally, and people who inject drugs (PWID) have one of the highest HIV infection rates in Africa. After the implementation of the first Biological Behavioral Surveillance (BBS) Survey among PWID in Mozambique, the Ministry of Health started the development of a National Harm Reduction Plan. Although the findings from the BBS survey highlighted the specific needs of young PWID, the proposed Harm Reduction Plan does not explicitly focus on reducing high-risk behaviors of young PWID. We outline the importance of the inclusion of age-specific interventions focused on the needs of young PWID in Mozambique, and how a comprehensive Harm Reduction Plan can reduce the HIV epidemic in this population. There is a unique opportunity to advocate for the Harm Reduction Plan to include "youth-friendly" cost-effective and evidence-based interventions that are targeted to this important subgroup within an already vulnerable population.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with HIV/hepatitis B and HIV/hepatitis C co-infections among people who inject drugs in Mozambique

“…Despite overwhelming evidence of the effectiveness of harm reduction for preventing the spread of HIV and reducing other health issues associated with drug use, global harm reduction service coverage remains insufficient [36]. Mozambique does not have integrated harm reduction programs and policies to reduce the high-risk sexual and drug use behaviors that contribute to the growing HIV epidemic in the country [18]. In 2018, the first drop-in center for people who use drugs was opened as a demonstration site in Maputo to provide comprehensive medical care for people who use drugs before linkage to more comprehensive healthcare services.…”

“…PWID have the highest burden of HIV among key population groups in Mozambique and yet there continues to be lack of integrated prevention and treatment services [18,19]. In a country with one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, understanding the epidemiology of HIV, HBV and HCV among PWID is critical in order to design effective and efficient prevention and treatment programs.…”

Recognizing the hidden: strengthening the HIV surveillance system among key and priority populations in Mozambique

“…There has been a systematic approach to the use and dissemination of data for the development of abstracts for international conferences and manuscripts for international peer-reviewed journals of both INS staff and students interested in using the BBS data for their thesis and dissertation work. To date, sixteen manuscripts have been published or are under review in peer-reviewed journals [13][14][15][16][17][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], and six students have used BBS data for their dissertations (undergraduate, masters, and doctorate). These abstracts and manuscripts have benefited from systematic and ongoing support from INS leadership and partner organizations.…”

Recognizing the hidden: Strengthening the HIV surveillance system among key and priority populations in Mozambique

“…There has been a systematic approach to the use and dissemination of data for the development of abstracts for international conferences and manuscripts for international peer-reviewed journals of both INS staff and students interested in using the BBS data for their thesis and dissertation work. To date, sixteen manuscripts have been published or are under review in peer-reviewed journals (13)(14)(15)(16)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45), and six students have used BBS data for their dissertations (undergraduate, masters, and doctorate). These abstracts and manuscripts have bene ted from systematic and ongoing support from INS leadership and partner organizations.…”