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 (right) and UNDP Resident Representative Matthew Kahane signing the contract.

Australian Ambassador Keith Gardner (right) and UNDP Resident Representative Matthew Kahane signing the contract. Photo courtesy: UNDP
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.