injecting and safe sexual behaviour as well as knowledge on HIV/AIDS.

Hospitals and emergency rooms.
Local researchers in the field can help you with information or references.
Newspapers and magazines sometimes have articles on HIV/AIDS and other important issues.
NGO’s and other groups already working with the target group or with other groups in the area.
The police and prisons as well as courts.
This is clearly not an all-inclusive list, and it would be difficult to try and provide such a list,
considering different countries and groups can lead to very different conditions, requiring the
knowledge of different information. For ideas and tips on getting the information you need,
refer to the Global Youth Network publication: A participatory handbook for youth drug abuse
prevention programmes: A guide for development and improvement.
(http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_action.html)
For more detailed information on How to conduct a rapid assessment of the situation, particularly
with regard to injecting drug users, please see http://www.who.int/docstore/hiv/Core/Index.html,
a technical guide for Rapid Assessment and Response to HIV/AIDS.
Staff
Who are the appropriate people to work in HIV prevention projects? What kind of characteristics
should they have?
Staff who are going to work in a prevention programme with young IDUs need to have or learn
certain characteristics . . .
They should be open, free of prejudices and stereotypes, and have a non-judgmental
position towards drug use. They should be caring, understanding and sensitive. They need to
have respect for IDUs, and for their confidentiality.
They should have a certain level of knowledge on safe injecting and safe sexual behaviour
as well as knowledge on HIV/AIDS.
They should not use technical language, but should be able to reach IDUs on their own
level, to work “with them” rather than “for them”.
Outreach workers will need to be available at normal working hours as well as
unconventional hours, at which the programme should aim to work as well.
Since outreach workers should be reachable 24 hours a day, mobile phones can help a lot. In one
case, a project in Brazil was able to negotiate a discount rate with the mobile phone company
once they explained that the phones were being used for outreach work.
They should have dedication and commitment to the cause.
There should ideally be outreach workers of both sexes, as some males or females may feel
more comfortable talking to someone of the same sex.