What to provide and how Groups still not injecting

What to provide and how
Groups still not injecting
In most cases, individuals move on to injecting after a period of inhaling or snorting the drugs
or other forms of non-injecting drug use. Various factors, as mentioned in section one, contribute
to the transition to injecting. However, this transition is not inevitable; many drug using groups
remain in non-injecting subcultures and never make the transition to injection.
For the non-injecting groups there are various prevention efforts which are important to emphasize:
Efforts can be made to reduce drug use and encourage abstinence if possible.
Efforts can also be made to prevent the transition to injection, giving information and life
skills as well as alternative activities as preventing measures.
After the first injection, there is generally a rapid progression to injection as the preferred
route of administration. So infrequent injectors are an unstable group and interventions to
not have much space or time to be effective [23].
Even in non-injecting drug users, HIV is a risk, potentially spread through unprotected
sexual contact with other drug users who may be injecting or commercial sex workers or
other sexual partners who have had sexual contact with HIV positive people.
For drug prevention in general, it is often profitable to use different tools, such as sports or
drama, to creatively engage youth in prevention activities. More information on these methods
can be found in the Global Youth Network Project How-to guides: “Sport—using sport for drug
abuse prevention”, and “Performance—using performance for substance abuse prevention”.
(http://www.unodc.org/youthnet/youthnet_action.html)
IDUs
For preventing the transition to IDU, some points are worth keeping in mind:
Provide adequate information through education. Have intensive and consistent
prevention messages.
Develop decision-making skills and capacity.
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