ArticleHarm reduction journal2020
Population estimation and harm reduction among people who inject drugs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Article in Harm reduction journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sexually transmitted infection prevalence and testing coverage among people who inject drugs: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Pooled it
- Regional perspectives: Substance use related problems in Ethiopia.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Review
- Non-Medical Opioid Use in Ethiopia: An Exploratory Descriptive Study.Ethiopian journal of health sciences · 2026Article
- Association of serum testosterone concentrations with central adiposity in men who inject heroin in Mombasa County, Kenya.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Article
- A look beyond the needle: high prevalence of injecting risk behaviours among people who inject drugs in Zanzibar.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Methamphetamine use and associated factors among people who inject drugs in Iran 2020.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2025Article
- The burden of unlawful use of opioid and associated epidemiological characteristics in Africa: A scoping review.PloS one · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInjecting drug use is known to contribute significantly to the spread of the HIV epidemic in many parts of the developing world. Due to the hidden nature and stigma of the problem, it is difficult to study using routine surveys. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the number of people who inject drugs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and to describe the epidemiological and social situation related to HIV among people who inject drugs.
methodsThe study used rapid assessment methods, followed by combined methods of estimating populations, using nomination and multiplier methods. The combined methods used two datasets: the first includes the proportion of people who use services within a year as a multiplier, and the second, a count of the list of people with a problem who used the specific service within a year as a benchmark. The rapid assessment incorporated different qualitative tools to elicit information related to injectable drugs, using existing data sources, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions.
resultsThe study estimated a total of 4068; with 95% CI (3196, 5207) people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in Addis Ababa. The study found people who inject drugs were young in age, male, with a lower educational status, unmarried, and living in small clerical business. People who inject drugs and participated in the study were more likely to use additional substances like alcohol, khat, and cannabis. The most common form of injectable drug used was heroin, and most of the people who inject drugs reported sharing syringes and needles. A high proportion of study subjects also disclosed having positive test results for HIV, hepatitis B, and C.
conclusionThe population size of people who inject drugs in Addis Ababa is high. Lack of service in harm reduction in the city has made PWIDs vulnerable and at higher risk for HIV/AIDs and hepatitis B and C. Therefore, responsible bodies must start implementing the essential harm reduction strategies given by the World Health Organization.
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