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Trust points as an effective approach to scale up HIV prevention among injecting drug users
A. Makhkamov
World Vision, AIDS Centre, HIV Prevention, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Background: Uzbekistan is hosting the largest epidemic in Central Asia (UNAIDS Epidemic Update 2007). The number of newly reported HIV infections has grown reaching 2205 in 2006 (EuroHIV, 2007). Almost one in three Injecting Drug Users (IDU) tested HIV positive in Tashkent City between 2003 and 2004 (Sanchez et al., 2006). 3 Trust Points (TPs) were operational during 2000-2003 initiated by UNODC in partnership with Tashkent City AIDS Center, providing harm reduction services mostly limited to Needle and Syringe Exchange (NSE). In 2004 these were taken over by World Vision Uzbekistan (WVUz) and scaled-up to 10 TPs. Since then TPs progressed to provision of more comprehensive HIV prevention and Harm Reduction (HR) service. This study reveals analysis of the TP effectiveness evaluation findings rendering provided services and their quality during 2004-2007.
Methods: In 2007 WVUZ randomly recruited 100 IDUs known to attend the TPs from various community settings of Tashkent City. They completed interviewer administered questionnaires with domains targeting accessability, availability, variety and quality of services provided; the effectiveness of those services and the satisfaction of the survey participants.
Results: 100 IDUs were interviewed in 10 districts of Tashkent city served by the 10 TPs. 70% have been satisfied with services of TP, especially that of NSE, psychological support and referral to HIV testing. 30% of survey participants did not find Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) available in TP and 20% were not satisfied by the fact of being referred to AIDS center for testing part of the VCT, anticipating its availability in TP. 50% got information about substitution treatment from TPs and 30 were referred to substitution treatment.
Conclusions: While many IDUs are satisfied with services rendered in TPs, further improvement for provision of more comprehensive services, including the complete VCT available in TPs is essential.
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