The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) released a new issue brief about creating a comprehensive response to the intersecting issues of opioid and other drug use, hepatitis, and HIV. This brief outlines the core elements necessary to create such a response and the evidence behind them. As you know, the nation has experienced unprecedented increases in hepatitis and HIV rates among people who use drugs over the past two decades. As communities work to effectively respond to these epidemics, NASTAD urges health departments to take a leadership role in educating policymakers, public safety leaders, community partners, and impacted communities about the core components of a comprehensive, public health approach to end these intersecting epidemics.

For more information on NASTAD’s issue brief on The Intersection of Hepatitis, HIV, and the Opioid Crisis, or drug user health programs and policy activities, please contact Laura Pegram.