Stigma and Lack of Harm Reduction Services In Russia

"People who use drugs (PWUD) are one of the most stigmatized and marginalized populations in Russia [1, 2]. People who inject drugs (PWID) are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, HCV infection and fatal overdoses (OD) [3–7]. Unfortunately, harm reduction programs that have been proven to be effective for combatting HIV, HCV, and OD among PWID [8, 9] are not officially endorsed by the Russian government, their number is limited and access to them is low [10]. Moreover, the number of needle and syringe exchange programs (NSPs) in Russia has been decreasing since 2010 [11], while opioid agonist therapy (OAT) remains illegal [10]. In addition, harm reduction services were reported to be unattractive to young PWID in Russia [12].

"Thus, there is an urgent need for alternative ways of providing harm reduction services to improve their accessibility among a wider population of PWUD in Russia. This is especially true for harder-to-reach populations, such as young PWUD. One such way to increase accessibility is by integrating harm reduction services into online platforms."