Nepal Core Package Final Report: A Pathway to Stopping the Rapid Spread of HIV/AIDS in Nepal: Increasing the Participation of Affected Groups in Designing Effective Policies and Programs POLICY (January 2006)  Full Document (English)      Order for free      email to me  In 2003, the POLICY Project implemented a core package in Nepal, which was designed to create a model for increasing the meaningful participation of injecting drug users (IDUs) in the HIV/AIDS policymaking environment. Activities centered on bringing together recovering IDUs to form a network, thereby developing their leadership capacity and knowledge of HIV prevention in order to advocate for HIV treatment, support, and care. This report describes how the project took on a life of its own and helped transform a loosely organized network into an established nongovernmental organization (NGO). The following list exemplifies the breadth of the project's achievements: 1) Nepal's first IDU network was created, which united IDUs and increased their leadership capacity. 2)549 IDUs participated in training sessions throughout the country. 3)IDUs advocated with donors and policymakers for care, treatment, and support, including free drug rehabilitation services, for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs). 4)IDUs developed strategic relationships among themselves and with policymakers, donors, and HIV service and drug rehabilitation organizations. 5)The network successfully used the media to raise awareness of stigma and discrimination against IDUs and PLHAs.