Policy & Advocacy Tools

In 2022, an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV globally, and 46 per cent of all people living with HIV were women and girls [1]. Alarmingly, the risk of acquiring HIV is 35 times higher among people who inject drugs than among those who do not [2]. Of the world’s estimated 296 million people who use drugs, 25–47 per cent are women, depending on the substance and region [3]. Women who inject drugs represent around 19 per cent of the estimated 13.2 million people who inject drugs [3]. There is a strong likelihood that these population size calculations are underestimated, given the marginalization of women who use drugs, the paucity of appropriate services for them, and the resultant data gaps.