Number of opioid substitution therapy (OSP) sites
Export Indicator
National commitment and progress towards the treatment of opiate users and reduction of HIV transmission probabilities among people who inject drugs. The number of OST sites and the availability of sites that can provide OST to injecting drug users.
Opioid substitution therapy represents a commitment to treat opiate users and to reduce the frequency of injection, preferably to zero. OST is the single most effective public health tool for reducing injection drug use.
National programme data
Disaggregation:
Administrative unit
Urban, rural
Data Quality Control and Notes for the Reporting Tool: National Representativeness: Many OST sites are not "official" and may be run by NGOs, which the government may not have information on. Please try to assess the national representativeness of the number you are reporting.
Geographic location: Urban, Rural
OST sites should be readily available and valid since they are typically licensed by the relevant authorities. However, the number of sites does not indicate the number of slots that may be available.
Obtaining subgroup population size estimates will be difficult and add extra uncertainty.
Additional considerations: Please refer to the WHO/UNODC/UNAIDS Technical Guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (http://www.who.int/hiv/topics/idu/en/index.html) for a complete set of globally agreed indicators for people who inject drugs.
Data utilization: Get an idea of the availability of OST sites and trends over time in relation to the population size of opiate injectors in the country. Also try to analyse data based on geographical location of the OST sites and geographical distribution and population density of people who inject opioid drugs in the country. If possible, try to interpret this indicator considering information available on the number of OST slots in various sites. Try to assess whether sufficient OSTs are available for the number and distribution of opiate injectors in the country.
Other references: WHO/UNODC/UNAIDS Technical Guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users (http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/idu/idu_target_setting_guide.pdf)