FHI/Nepal commissioned the study Behavioral and Seroprevalence Survey Among Injecting Drug Users (IDU) to estimate the prevalence of HIV among IDUs and assess their role in the transmission of HIV.

HIV transmission among this group is typically associated with those who share needles or syringes. But other risky behaviors, such as unprotected sex with partners and sex with female sex workers, also contribute to the spread of HIV among this group, and to an extent, the general population at large.

To measure the extent of these risky behaviors, FHI conducted the study in the Pokhara Valley of the Kaski districts. Three hundred IDUs were sampled from 20 randomly selected sites, with a median age of 22 years.