Ohio: New HIV/AIDS Cases Down Among Those Who Use Needles

With the help of the public-private AIDS Funding Collaborative, the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland (FCGC) operates Ohio's only sanctioned grassroots needle exchange program (NEP). Working discreetly from a van at long-standing locations on Cedar Avenue and West 25th Street, the program dispenses clean syringes, water, bleach and counseling to help prevent blood-borne infections among injection drug users (IDUs).

Between 2001 and 2004, HIV diagnoses among IDUs decreased in the United States, according to a recent CDC study covering 33 states. Nearly every US state has at least one NEP, though researchers did not establish a link between specific NEPs and the decline. Nonetheless, supporters of Cleveland's NEP believe it prevents new HIV infections.

In 1995, Cleveland Mayor Michael White declared an AIDS emergency, allowing the operation of NEPs. Despite intermittent increases, the 10-year-old Cuyahoga County program has seen the rate of new HIV/AIDS cases associated with drug injection drop from 12.8 percent in 1995 to 7.8 percent in 2005. In routine testing of clients for STDs and HIV, the program recorded one HIV infection this year. Last year, there were none.

The NEP's clientele includes white-collar professionals, sex workers, the homeless and the working poor, said Gail Bromley, FCGC's executive director. It exchanges about 120,000 needles annually, has approximately 950 registered clients, and serves some 120 regular clients a month. The goal of the confidential program, said Bromley, is to channel as many clients into detoxification as possible.

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