Highlights

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HIV medicine locker at IDEA Exchange in Miami, Florida.
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  • The HIV epidemic and addiction and overdose crisis in the United States are closely intertwined.1 People who use drugs may have a higher risk of acquiring HIV—both related directly to sharing equipment for injection drug use2 and to the complex role drug use can play in sexual transmission3,4,5,6,7—and they may face unique barriers to lifesaving tools that prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV.8 Similarly, communities with high rates of certain forms of drug use are vulnerable to HIV outbreaks.1,9,10,11,
  • NIDA conducts and supports research to evaluate approaches to improve HIV and substance use outcomes in the United States and around the world, including evidence-based harm-reduction strategies (such as syringe services programs), integrated delivery of substance use treatment and other services alongside HIV care, and efforts to overcome stigma.
  • Researchers, clinicians, and activists working at the intersection of HIV and substance use have had an important role in the response to the HIV pandemic since AIDS was recognized in the 1980s.12 Through the HIV Research Program, NIDA continues to advance scientific understanding of HIV, drugs, and addiction.

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