Number of needle and syringe programme (NSP) sites
Export Indicator
Number of NSP sites (including pharmacy sites providing at no cost needles and syringes). Availability of sites that can provide clean needles and syringes to injection drug users.
Needle and syringe distribution programmes are among the most effective interventions for preventing transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs. Sufficient access to clean needles for the injecting population is measured with this indicator.
National program data
Disaggregation: Administrative unit, Urban/Rural
Data Quality Control and Notes for the Reporting Tool: National Representativeness: Many NSP sites are not "official" and may be run by NGOs, which the government may not have information on. Please try to assess the national representativeness of the number you are reporting.
Geographic location: Urban, Rural
Many NSPs are not "official" and therefore not counted among national program data.
Additional considerations:
Needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) are any programmes that include access to clean equipment and safe disposal through fixed or mobile exchange programmes and/or through pharmacies where equipment is available free of charge. In many countries pharmacy sales of injecting equipment are an important and sometimes the most significant source of clean injecting equipment accessible to drug users. However, pharmacies that sell needles and syringes are typically not counted in a retrievable database as part of a public health or harm reduction programme. If they are available, they should be counted and highlighted, if possible. Pharmacies that distribute needles and syringes free of cost typically do maintain records of needles distributed as part of the programme and should be included.
Please refer to the WHO/UNODC/UNAIDS Technical Guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/en/index.html) for a proposed complete set of globally agreed indicators for people who inject drugs.
Data utilization: Get an idea of the availability of NSP sites, and trends over time. Also try to analyse data based on geographical location of the NSP sites and geographical distribution and population density of people who inject drugs in the country. Try to assess whether sufficient NSPs are available for the number and distribution of people who inject drugs in the country.
Other References: WHO/UNODC/UNAIDS Technical Guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users ( http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/en/index.html )