Drug addiction treatment must be saved from austerity cuts

Governments across Europe are being urged by policy drug experts to exclude drug-abuse treatment from austerity cuts. There has been a sudden increase in the number of HIV infections among drug users in Greece and the reason for this is believed to be due to a reduction in the number of treatment centres.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported that in 2010 there were 22 new cases of HIV reported in Greece. This increased more than tenfold in just one year, with 245 new cases in 2011. Greece’s economic crisis is one of the main reasons for this rise.

Thomas Kattau, the deputy executive secretary at Council of Europe, said: “There are alarming figures (in Greece). So I think it’s very important that vulnerable people are targeted for treatment.”

Greece had been forced to make extreme cuts in both healthcare and social services since it was bailed out in 2010 by the eurozone and IMF. Additional cuts in 2011 reduced needle distribution programs, which were set up to ensure clean needles are available to drug users. The aim is to give every drug user 200 needles every year; however, Greece is only able to provide 135 due to budget cuts.

One new initiative in Greece is a European Union-funded injection site in a poor area of Athens. Addicts are paid to use the facility and in return they have access to clean needles and can have tests for HIV.

Similar projects have been run in Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in Canada. Experience has shown that addicts use the money to buy things such as hygiene products rather than to buy more drugs. Thomas Kattau said: “In the end the goal is to stop the spread of HIV-Aids.”