Workshop in Manaus discusses law enforcement and prevention and treatment for HIV/AIDS associated with drug use

Ana Lúcia Ferraz, Secretário Aírton Ângelo, Nara Santos and Georgiana Braga. 

Manaus, 30 September 2014 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held in Manaus, on 25 and 26 September, a workshop on law enforcement and prevention and treatment for HIV/AIDS in the context of drug use.

The event brought together health managers, public safety professionals, law enforcement officials and civil society members, with the objective of promoting dialogue between the health and justice sectors and fostering debate on the needs of drug users and people living with HIV.  

During the opening session, the UNODC HIV/AIDS Programme Officer, Nara Santos, noted that "it is acknowledged around the world that, despite all the advances in HIV/AIDS diagnosis, prevention and treatment, we still lose many opportunities with specific groups. People who use drugs, for example, still do not have access to all these advances".

The Coordinator of the Department for Prevention and Social Articulation of Brazil's Ministry of Health, Ana Lúcia Ferraz Amstalde, also participated in the session, as well as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Country Director, Georgiana Braga-Orillard, and the Secretary of Planning and Economic Development of the State of Amazonas, Aírton Ângelo Claudino.

The workshop was held under the AMAZONAIDS Project, a UNAIDS initiative that started in 2008 in collaboration with UN agencies, the Netherlands Embassy, the Amazonas NGO/AIDS Forum, as well as the federal and state governments and the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte, Benjamin Constant and Tabatinga. AMAZONAIDS seeks to strengthen local capacities in order to improve the response to the AIDS epidemic, as well as to conciliate interventions by UN agencies and other partners to optimize the use of technical and financial resources, aligning their activities with local governments' priorities. UNODC is one of the UNAIDS cosponsoring agencies and is a member of the Thematic Group on HIV/AIDS in Brazil.

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