HIV prevention: Director of Health Dr Lam Ping-yan delivers a speech at the Training Workshop on Methadone Treatment for HIV Prevention.

Although the HIV epidemic is growing in Asia, the prevalence remains low in Hong Kong.

Director of Health Dr Lam Ping-yan said today our methadone treatment programme is a big feature of the harm-reduction strategy for Hong Kong's drug users.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Training Workshop on Methadone Treatment for HIV Prevention at Lam Woo International Conference Centre, Dr Lam said about 250 new infections are reported each year.

"The prevalence, however, has remained low at less than 0.1% in the adult population, and injection drug use accounts for less than 3% of the reported infections," he said.

"Compared to the worsening HIV situation in many Asian countries, we take comfort that Hong Kong has benefited from the methadone treatment programme."

He said Hong Kong's network of 20 methadone clinics has been fulfilling its public health objective through the establishment of an HIV surveillance system, introduction of behavioural surveillance, organisation of health promotion activities including condom distribution, and the provision of effective means of disease prevention.

"With the support of the HK AIDS Trust Fund and UNAIDS, the department established the Red Ribbon Centre to share experience with counterparts around the world, particularly Southeast Asia and the Mainland."

Up to the second quarter of 2003, the cumulative total number of reported HIV infections here since 1984 was 2,116, of which only 56 infections were related to needle sharing by drug users.

A pilot project on universal HIV urine testing aimed at early diagnosis and treatment of HIV-infected patients was launched by the department in July.

Subject to evaluation of the results of the project, HIV urine testing may be extended to all methadone clinics to make the methadone treatment programme even more effective for AIDS surveillance and prevention in Hong Kong.

Attended by 100 representatives from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Mainland, Hong Kong, Nepal, Vietnam and the US, the three-day workshop is organised by the United Nations Regional Task Force on Drug Use & HIV Vulnerability.