Drug users not treated humanely
Drug users in Asia and Pacific regions face discrimination and limited access to proper medical treatment since many of these countries still regard human rights as minor problems, a forum was told Thursday.
“It requires comprehensive policy changes at the national, regional and international levels to enable these persons to receive needed medications and treatments,” said a speaker in a forum on Injecting Drug Users (IDU), with the theme Reform: Toward Human Rights Drug Policy, in Sanur, as part of the 9th International Congress on AIDS in the Asia-Pacific.
Dean Lewis, a member of the Asian Network for People who Use Drugs (ANPUD), told the forum that harm reduction was among the efforts to reduce negative impact among IDU persons.
“Such a policy is still unavailable in many Asian and Pacific countries.”