Just the Facts...

• Percentage of global HIV infections that occur outside Sub Saharan Africa: 30
• Percentage of these infections outside Sub Saharan Africa that involve injecting drug users: 30
• For every new global HIV infection, chance that it involves an injecting drug user: 1 in 10
• Of the 144 countries worldwide where injecting drug use has been reported, percentage of which HIV has been reported among injecting drug users: 88
• Number of new HIV infections outside of Africa which are attributed to injection drug use: 1 in 3
• Age of which the majority of those infected: under 30
• Percent of new AIDS cases in the US which can be attributed to injection drug use and/or sex with an injection drug user: 23
• Percentage of those needing treatment in the United States, for drug abuse, as of 2000, but did not have access to it: 80
• Number of federally-funded reviews and reports conducted by public health officials, researchers, and U.S. government agencies that have concluded that syringe exchange programs are effective, safe, and cost effective: 7
• Ranks of U.S. in terms of funding global HIV/AIDS programs around the world: 1
• Federal spending on so-called drug control programs in 1981: 1.5 billion
• Federal spending on so-called drug control programs in 2000: 18.5 billion
• Number of Americans in prison for drug offenses in 1980: 41,000
• Number of Americans in prison for drug offenses in 2000: 458,000
• Percentage of American teenagers who will have used an illegal drug by the time they graduate high school: 50
• Most effective method of HIV prevention for injection drug users who cannot or will not stop using drugs: Use of sterile syringes