To reduce the harms associated with injecting drug use in Asia, especially HIV infection, through a process of networking, information sharing, Advocacy, and program and policy development. It is about saving lives. As long as people continue to spread HIV through drug injecting and unsafe sex, harm reduction will be needed. The term harm reduction refers to various strategies and approaches for reducing the physical and social harms associated with risk-taking behaviour. Harm reduction can be applied to use of legal drugs and other areas where complete abstinence from risk-taking behaviour is an unrealistic goal.
Harm reduction is about making dangerous behaviours less dangerous.
As a consequence, countless thousands of young people are either infected with HIV or at risk of becoming infected. Unsafe injecting practices are a significant factor in the spread of HIV among IDUs. Few countries in Asia have been in a position to implement appropriate drug prevention and treatment strategies. Drug policy has concentrated on a 'war on drugs', which, with the lack of treatment options, has led to drug use being a very hidden and uncontrolled problem in the community. However, a growing number of programs and governments in Asia are showing that drug use should be viewed as a health problem and not just a legal problem.