Stephen Lewis gave a speech at the closing of the International AIDS conference in Toronto that basically smmed up his years of frustration with the UN and certain member countries. He also made some recommendations. Interestingly the AIDs pandemic in Africa,, he also expressed his support for the InSite in Vancouver:
Harm reduction programmes do work. Needle exchange and methadone treatment save lives. More, it would be positively perverse to close the 'Insite' safe injection facility in Vancouver when it has been positively evaluated in a number of studies; in fact there should be several more such facilities in Canada and around the world. Russia, Central Asia, parts of India are all struggling with transmission through injecting drug use. To shut 'Insite' down is to invite HIV infection and death. One has to wonder about the minds of those who would so readily punish injecting drug users rather than understanding the problem for what it is: a matter of public health.
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