Introducing Chennai IDU Network (CIN)

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

We would like to introduce our self as an Chennai injection drug user's network

CIN). Few of us joined together and started this group to give a voice to our

community.

Since drug users are facing major discrimination among the service provider and

also from few networks since the drug users are not focused their primary

problem of addiction. There are few service provider and it is inadequate, most

of the service are study and the interventions but care and support is left out

for IDU community.

The problem faced by the drug users are 1)Addiction, 2)HIV/AIDS, 3)HCV, & 4)HBV.

Now we are only addressing the HIV accepets.Keeping this in mind we as an

ex-drug user formed the society to give a voice to the Govt and the sacs.

The mission is to give a dignity and care & support to the drug user and their

family in Tamilnadu.

Tamil Nadu is one of the six high prevalence states in the country and the

alarming increase in the rise and spread of HIV infections in the state is a

major cause for concern. There is an acute need to create awareness about this

disease and provide special health and support services for HIV infected

patients especially in marginalized groups.

While the main transmission mode continues to be via sex, the presence of drug

abuse/ dependence especially intravenous drug injection practices is a cause of

severe concern due to the efficacy of transmission via this mode as well as the

dual risk of sexual transmission to either the spouses or partners of IDU’s.

While IDU populations may not be spread out across the entire state it is

invariably concentrated in the large metros of which Chennai has a large

population of intravenous drug users who are also infected with HIV. The latest

estimates on prevalence of HIV among IDU’s are 39.92 % as per the Sentinel

Survey 2004.

Further there is a switch from non- injection form of drug use to injecting of

heroin or buprenorphine among local youth populations over the last decade. As

evident both prevention and care within this group poses many challenges thereby

leading to the possibility of entire IDU populations being rapidly infected by

HIV.

This group needs special focus due to their needs and while HIV prevention &

harm reduction may be the main goal the need to address the primary problem of

addiction must receive attention. In terms of the addiction aspect all the

strategies should ideally lead up to achieving abstinence. This group is also

high vulnerable to HCV, the prevalence rate is 95% to 97%.

Keeping this in mind we have started this group to provide education and

awareness to the community and the younger generation to give drug free life.we

need support to extend the service to the needy. In this group we have ex-user

and HIV infected idu to give a helping hand to the community.

Thanking you & Regards

B.Kumar(sec)

Elango(President)

e-mail: <chennai_idun@...>