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Egypt
In Egypt, the Joint Programme made substantial contributions towards improving access to HIV prevention information and services, including opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and needles and syringes programmes to curb new HIV infections among young people and key populations. For instance, more than 100 000 young people were engaged in offline and online HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) campaigns during the 2023 World AIDS Day and Zero Discrimination Day commemorations. In seven governorates, more than 307 000 needles and syringes and over 19 000 condoms were distributed to nearly 20 000 people who inject drugs through a partnership with 11 civil society organizations (UNDP, UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat). With financial and technical support from the Joint Programme, five new sites introduced OAT services in 2023, benefiting 240 people who inject drugs (UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat). To further prevent HIV transmission, 260 serodiscordant couples also started pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), preparing the ground for a PrEP pilot among gay men and other men who have sex with men planned for 2024. Over 41 000 gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and female sex workers received voluntary HIV testing through community-based and governmental facilities supported by the Joint Programme (UNDP, UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat).
HIV services were also scaled up in prisons across the country, thanks to the Joint Programme’s technical and financial support to in-prison healthcare facilities and community-led outreach initiatives. Over 42 000 incarcerated people and former prisoners from 13 prisons and their 40 500 family members accessed HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis prevention and treatment services during the biennium. In addition, 400 healthcare providers from prison health centres and civil society organizations improved their capacity for delivering voluntary counselling and testing for HIV and other communicable diseases through training sessions (UNODC).