Let the numbers speak

* Of addicts entering Yakita, on average 80 percent are IV drug users. Some of the viruses transmitted intravenously are HBV (hepatitis B), HCV (hepatitis C) and HIV. * Up to 1997, HIV prevalence in IV drug users was around zero percent, but it has grown steadily since then. The Drug Addiction Hospital (RSKO) recorded that in 2001, 48 percent of IV drug users admitted to its facility tested positive for HIV. Yakita's statistics show that of all people treated there since 1999, 69 percent were infected with HCV, while 20 percent were HIV positive. * In Indonesia, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS is estimated to be between 80,000 and 130,000. The Ministry of Health predicts that sharing needles will account for 38 percent of future HIV transmission. The government is preparing a harm reduction program that will provide clean disposable needles and methadone treatment.

-- JP