12 July 2010 (Geneva, Switzerland) – The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the recipients of their second annual joint research fellowships. Recipients of the prestigious awards will receive US$75,000 each to advance the scientific understanding of the linkage between illicit drug use and HIV, while fostering multinational research.
Young researchers from Russia, South Africa, China, Indonesia and Canada will be awarded fellowships to pursue groundbreaking research in the field. IAS/NIDA research fellowships are awarded to junior scientists for 18-months for post-doctoral training and to well-established HIV researchers for eight-months of professional development, both at institutes excelling in research on illicit drug use and HIV. Presentation of the IAS/NIDA fellowships will take place on 23 July 2010 at the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) at the Reed Messe Wien in Vienna, Austria, during the session "Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS Among Drug Using Populations: A Global Perspective." (11:00-12:30).
"The innovative research projects that will be implemented by these talented scientists in different disciplines – biology, epidemiology, public health, behavioral and social sciences - cover multiple areas of knowledge needed to create better combination prevention strategies targeting HIV infections related to drug use," noted IAS Acting Executive Director Mats Ahnlund.
Use of contaminated injection equipment during drug use accounts for more than 80% of all HIV infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and is a major entry point for HIV epidemics in countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South and South-East Asia and Latin America. In addition, use of other illicit drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine, even without injection, is also associated with increased HIV risk behaviors.
Drug use is a global epidemic that brings with it greatly increased risk for HIV infection. UNAIDS estimates that more than 4.5 million people in Asia, 1.8 million people in the Russian Federation, 2 million Latin Americans and nearly nine million people in the Middle East and North Africa inject drugs. HIV infection rates among injection drug users are estimated at 43% in Kenya, 30-50% in Thailand, 52% in Indonesia, 39-50% in Ukraine and 72% in Estonia. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, injecting drug use accounts for more than two thirds (67.5%) of reported HIV cases.
The intersection of drug use and HIV is an area of tremendous importance in tracking, responding to and slowing the global HIV epidemic. " The ongoing partnership between NIDA and IAS seeks to support and highlight outstanding research efforts that will bringus closer to effective and humane responses to these closely linked epidemics, " NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow commented.
"Improving research on HIV and drug use is key to building a more-informed understanding of drug using behaviours and reducing their vulnerability and that of their partners and family members to HIV," said IAS President Julio Montaner. He added that, "Policy-makers need to pay attention to the fact that drug use treatment has a substantial impact on HIV treatment adherence and outcomes, and this impact can be multiplied by the roll-out of HIV treatment among HIV infected drug users, given the preventive effect of antiretroviral treatment."
Background Information
The 2010 IAS/NIDA Joint Research Fellowships are awarded to:
About NIDA
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at www.drugabuse.gov . To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's new DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or fax or email requests to 240-645-0227 or drugpubs@nida.nih.gov . Online ordering is available at http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov .
About the IAS:
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with 14,000 members from 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. Our members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners. The IAS is the custodian of the biennial International AIDS Conference, which will be held in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 23 July 2010.
For more information:
Alan Brotherton (Geneva, Switzerland)
Director of Policy and Communications
Email: Alan.Brotherton@iasociety.org
Tel: +41 22 710 0857
Lindsey Rodger
Communications Assistant
Email: Lindsey.Rodger@iasociety.org
Tel: +41 22 710 0822