Six rapid assessments of alcohol and other substance use in populations displaced by conflict.

Background: Substance use among populations displaced by conflict is a neglected area of public health. Alcohol, khat, benzodiazepine, opiate, and other substance use have been documented among a range of displaced populations, with wide-reaching health and social impacts. Changing agendas in humanitarian response-including increased prominence of mental health and chronic illness-have so far failed to be translated into meaningful interventions for substance use.

A situation update on HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs and national responses in South-East Asia Region.

We explore the magnitude of and current trends in HIV infection among people who inject drugs and estimate the reach of harm reduction interventions among them in seven high-burden countries of the South-East Asia Region. Our data are drawn from the published and unpublished literature, routine national HIV serological and behavioural surveillance surveys and information from key informants. Six countries (Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh) had significant epidemics of HIV among people who inject drugs.

Antiretroviral treatment for injecting drug users in developing and transitional countries 1 year before the end of the "Treating 3 million by 2005. Making it happen. The WHO strategy" ("3 by 5").

Objective: To describe and estimate the availability of antiretroviral treatment (ART) to injecting drug users (IDUs) in developing and transitional countries.

Methods: Literature review of grey and published literature and key informants' communications on the estimated number of current/former injecting drug users (IDUs) receiving ART and the proportion of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attributed to injecting drug use (IDU), the number of people in ART and in need of ART, the number of people living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA) and the main source of ART.

Results: Data on former/current IDUs on ART were available from 50 countries (in 19 countries: nil IDUs in treatment) suggesting that approximately 34 000 IDUs were receiving ART by the end of 2004, of whom 30 000 were in Brazil.

Rapid assessment and response studies of injection drug use: knowledge gain, capacity building, and intervention development in a multisite study.

Objectives: We evaluated the World Health Organization's rapid assessment and response (RAR) method of assessing injection drug use and its associated health problems, focusing on knowledge gain, capacity building, and whether RAR leads to the development of interventions reducing the health effects of injection drug use.

Methods: Data were derived from RAR studies conducted in Beijing, China; Bogotá, Colombia; Greater Rosario, Argentina; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kharkiv, Ukraine; Minsk, Belarus; Nairobi, Kenya; Penang, Malaysia; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tehran, Iran.