Asia is the world’s largest producer of opium and heroin that has proliferated into epidemics of injecting both opiates and pharmaceuticals and there is no doubt that the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Asia is also driven by injecting drug users sharing infected syringes. Injecting drug use and related HIV are still escalating all over the region at an alarming scale particularly when we know how to prevent HIV among IDU population. In spite of the commitments of the leaders to the goal of universal access for prevention and treatment of HIV, coverage of services remains abysmally poor. South Asian countries will have to take up this challenge at the earliest. (The first Asian consultation on prevention of HIV related to drug use will take place in Goa ( India ) from 28 to 31 January 2008 . See details at:

http://www.responsebeyondborders.com/ )

Research Summary: Population council has published its latest working paper (no. 19) on Young people’s sexual and reproductive health in India: Policies, programs and realities available at:

http://www.popcouncil.org/publications/wp/seasia/Default.html).

This paper presents an overview of key policies and government programs intended to reduce HIV vulnerability and improve sexual and reproductive health among young people in India. The paper argues that though significant strides have been made in articulating a commitment to addressing many of the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents and youth, there remains a considerable schism between the commitments made in policies and programs, the implementation of these commitments, and the reality of young people’s lives in India. For example, while several national and state-specific programs have been implemented to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive health among young people, on balance, communication programs appear to stress HIV and safe sex over other aspects of sexual and reproductive health. Moreover, the focus of awareness raising programs has been somewhat skewed in terms of subpopulations covered; married young women, for example, are least likely to be reached. With regard to the provision of services, although policies and programs have underscored the right of adolescents and youth to sexual and reproductive health counseling and services, service delivery has not been youth -friendly or responsive to their unique needs, and there is considerable ambiguity in the extent of service delivery; the unmarried for example, remain underserved.

Resources: Emergency Contraception: A Last Chance to Prevent Unintended Pregnancy        (Princeton University, 2007) is a recent detailed academic review of the methods, access, combinations and population impact of emergency contraception written by James Trussell and Elizabeth G. Raymond. (Available at:

http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/ec-review.pdf )

News: The ‘universal access to reproductive health’ target under Millennium Development Goal 5 has just been allocated the number ‘Target 5B’. In addition, the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) indicator has been moved to this new target. The new framework which will detail all of the new targets and indicators of the MDGs will be on the website of the United Nations Statistics Division in early December 2007.

Events: In the context of South Asia region experiencing frequent disasters and conflicts, Visthar (www.visthar.org) will organize a Workshop on Gender, Conflict and Disaster in South Asia from 4 - 6, March 2008 in Bangalore (India). The workshop is designed for senior staff of NGOs, CBOs and other Civil Society Organizations in South Asia.  For further details, including scholarship information, contact Mercy Kappen (e mail id: mercykappen@yahoo.com, mail@visthar.org)