Injecting drug use has been a well-documented global phenomenon for decades. Injecting drug use has been reported in 190 countries and territories, with global estimates suggesting that between 14 and 15.6 million people inject drugs (1-4). Accurate estimation of the size of this population, locally and globally, is, however, difficult, because of the hidden nature of injecting drug use, particularly in contexts where criminalization and stigmatization drive people underground, often leading to significant underestimates.
