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The opioid substitution therapy (OST) program for the people who inject drugs (PWID) in Bangladesh: Lessons learned and way forward

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Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions

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Abstract

Opioid substitution therapy (OST) is a scientifically proven intervention that reduced illicit drug use and the spread of HIV in several settings. Bangladesh is one of the few countries in the region that pioneered early and continued HIV prevention programs among key populations. After a successful pilot from 2010, the OST program was gradually scaled up across several districts in Bangladesh. Although some success stories emerged, evidence revealed a few programmatic designs and implementation challenges of OST which undermined the OST intervention’s goal and ability to obliterate drug use. Therefore, it is integral to implement a structured low-threshold OST program that fulfills these objectives, rather than indefinitely continuing OST and carving ambiguities for drug use. If drug use persists, this would negate efforts invested in curbing drug use and its associated comorbidities.

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Abbreviations

ASP:

AIDS/STD Control Program

DIC:

Drop-in centers

DNC:

Department of Narcotics Control

GFATM:

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

HIV:

Human immunodeficiency virus

icddr,b:

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh

MMT:

Methadone maintenance treatment

OST:

Opioid substitution therapy

OUD:

Opioid use disorder

PWID:

People who inject drugs

PWUD:

People who use drugs

SRHR:

Sexual and reproductive health rights

STI:

Sexually transmitted infections

THN:

Take-home naloxone

UNODC:

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

WHO:

World Health Organization

WWID:

Women who inject drugs

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program for HIV and AIDS, Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Sharful Islam Khan, Tanveer Khan Ibne Shafiq, Samira Dishti Irfan & Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan

Authors
  1. Sharful Islam Khan
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  2. Tanveer Khan Ibne Shafiq
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  3. Samira Dishti Irfan
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  4. Mohammad Niaz Morshed Khan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sharful Islam Khan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Dept of Nutrition & Dietetics, King's College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

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Khan, S.I., Shafiq, T.K.I., Irfan, S.D., Khan, M.N.M. (2022). The opioid substitution therapy (OST) program for the people who inject drugs (PWID) in Bangladesh: Lessons learned and way forward. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67928-6_147-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67928-6_147-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-67928-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-67928-6

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