Press release – MENAHRA and WHO conducted a “Technical Consultation on Engaging and Retaining People Who Inject Drugs in HIV Treatment and Care”

Beirut, 21 November, 2015

The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a “Technical Consultation on Engaging and Retaining People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in HIV Treatment and Care”. The consultation was held from the 19th until the 21st of November, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon.

The consultation was attended by stakeholders, UN organizations, community and civil society members, and other experts in the field from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The overall aim of the meeting is to discuss strategies and approaches to engage and retain People Who Inject Drugs along the continuum of HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

This consultation allowed the participants to provide a description their current country situations and set priorities for key interventions as well as recommendations on supportive actions to increase HIV treatment coverage among PWID (as part of comprehensive harm reduction services) in their countries.

At the end of the workshop a dialogue was conducted on the MENAHRA-RANAA Global Fund – New Funding Model – Concept Note Development with the participants.