Integrated Bio-Behavioral Survey among Male Injecting Drug Users in Western To Far Western Terai, Nepal: Round I - 2005

HIV transmission among drug users is associated with injecting drug use that involves the sharing of needles or syringes. Risky sexual behavior associated with drug use also contributes to the spread of HIV. Injecting drug users function as a “bridging population” for HIV transmission between a core HIV risk group, other high-risk groups, and the general population. The main objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence rate of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) and assess their risky behavior. The study was conducted among IDUs in the municipalities and highway areas of Rupandehi, Banke, Kailali, and Kanchanpur districts of the Western to Far Western Terai. Three hundred male IDUs were sampled using the respondent driven sampling (RDS) methodology.