Developing effective health interventions for women who inject drugs: key areas and recommendations for program development and policy.

Women who inject drugs face multiple gender-specific health risks and barriers to healthcare access. These gendered factors may contribute to elevated rates of HIV for this population. Though few countries systematically collect gender-disaggregated data related to injecting drug use, evidence indicates that there are large populations of women who inject drugs and who are in need of improved health services, including HIV prevention.

Women, harm reduction and HIV.

Gender shapes the experience of drug use and its associated risks. In most parts of the world, however, harm reduction and drug treatment programmes that tailor their services to meet women's needs are rare or nonexistent. Many existing services inadvertently exclude women, and discriminatory policies and social stigma drive women drug users from care and expose them to human rights abuses.