People who use drugs, especially people who smoke or inject drugs, face additional risks and vulnerabilities to COVID-19 infection compared to the general population. Maintaining services for this population and safeguarding funding for harm reduction is therefore crucial.

As the largest donor for harm reduction in low and middle-income countries, the Global Fund is pivotal to efforts to end AIDS among people who use drugs by 2030. Harm Reduction International and the International Network of People who Use Drugs urge Global Fund Board members to put communities at the front and centre of the Global Fund 2023-2030 Strategy; to increase investment in life-saving harm reduction programming in line with a country’s epidemiological need; and to continue funding for harm reduction and the rights of people who use drugs through multi-country grants.