Middle East and North Africa - Regional Overview
The marginalised and criminalised populations of men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs are most affected by HIV in this region. Latest estimates indicate that there are over 300,000 people who inject drugs in the region. Injecting drug use is fuelling HIV epidemics in Iran, Bahrain and Libya and contributes to those in several other countries in the region.
Pilot harm reduction programmes are operating in several MENA countries. However, Iran remains the only country in the region where access to NSPs and OST has been significantly scaled up. Iran is also one of the few countries worldwide where NSPs are available in prisons, albeit only in a small number of institutions. While several other countries in the region have NSP and a small number prescribe OST, none have responses sufficient to meet the needs.
Despite strong civil society in parts of the region, restrictions on the functions of non-governmental organisations in several countries continue to limit the harm reduction response.
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| Country/territory with reported injecting drug use | People who inject drugs | Adult HIV prevalence amongst people who inject drugs | Harm reduction response | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSP | OST | |||
| Algeria | nk | nk | N | N |
| Bahrain | nk | 0.30% | N | N |
| Egypt | nk | 2.55% | Y (2) P | N |
| Iran | 180,000 | 15% | Y(428-637) (P) | Y (680-1,100) (B,M) |
| Iraq | nk | nk | N (P) | N |
| Israel | nk | 2.94% | Y | Y (B,M) |
| Jordan | nk | nk | N | N |
| Kuwait | nk | nk | N | N |
| Lebanon | nk | nk | Y(1-5) (P) | Y (1) (B) |
| Libya | 1,685 | 22% | N | N |
| Morocco | nk | nk | Y (2-3) (P) | N |
| Oman | nk | 11.80% | Y(1) | N |
| Palestine | nk | nk | Y(1) | N |
| Qatar | nk | nk | N | N |
| Saudi Arabia | nk | 0.14% | N | N |
| Syria | nk | 0.30% | N (P) | N |
| Tunisia | nk | nk | Y (6) | N |
| United Arab Emirates (UAE) | nk | nk | N | nk |
| Yemen | nk | nk | N (NP) | N |
