AusAid, UNDP sign pact for anti-AIDS
drive in Nepal
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid)
and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thursday signed
an approximately US$ 380,000 agreement providing further Australian
support to the HIV and AIDS Harm Reduction Programme for Injecting
Drug Users in Nepal.
Australian Ambassador Keith Gardner on behalf of the AusAid and
UNDP Resident Representative Matthew Kahane signed the contract
at the Australian Embassy today, coinciding with the World HIV/AIDS
Day.
The agreement will be executed within the framework of the UN
Management Support Agency (MSA) agreement with the Nepal government,
a press statement issued by the UNDP said.
The Harm Reduction Programme aims to reduce vulnerability of
HIV infection among the injecting drug users in Nepal by providing
comprehensive outreach activities i.e. counselling, behavioural
change communication, peer mobilisation, extensive awareness of
HIV and harms related to drug use, primary health care, and needle
and syringe exchange among the injecting drug users.
The activities will be conducted in 12 districts - Jhapa, Morang,
Sunsari, Kaski, Bara, Parsa, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kailai
and Kanchanpur - reaching over 12,000 injecting drug users, the
statement said.
According to the UNAIDS, 62,000 people are estimated to have
been living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal. A study conducted in Nepal
shows that more than 40 percent of injecting drug users are infected
with HIV. nepalnews.com mk Dec 01 05
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