Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) in Hungary 2011

"In 2011 24 organisations100 were running NSP services in Hungary (Tarján 2012b) (ST10_2012_HU_01;16 HU_ST10_2012).
"The service providers distributed a total number of 648,269 syringes, and the number of returned+collected syringes was 469,122.¹⁰¹
"In 2011, as compared to 2010, 29% more syringes were distributed by the service providers and the number of returned+collected syringes showed a significant increase, by 40%. This may be due to the new trend reported by the service providers that some of their clients were using new psychoactive substances in 2011, which are injected more often than heroin or amphetamine (for further information on new drug use patterns see chapter 4.3 and 4.4.). In 2011 again, the greatest increase could be observed in the number of syringes distributed/collected in the scope of the programmes with a fixed location. Three programmes with the highest turnover located in Budapest reported that due to their clients' increasing demand for syringes and because of their limited financial resources (for a description of the financing system of NSPs see 2011 National Report, chapter 7.2.) in the second half of 2011 they had to limit the number of sterile syringes distributed per contact in order to be able to maintain the programmes. This is one of the reasons why the number of returned+collected syringes increased at a greater rate than the number of distributed syringes, and the exchange rate also improved, in 2011 it increased to 72%.
"Compared to 2010 in 2011 the number of clients continued to increase (by 20%), the programmes reached 3,373 persons, and the number of contacts increased even more, by 29%, clients used NSP services on 38,407 occasions. In 2011 the NSPs registered 61% more new¹⁰² clients (1,559 persons) than in the previous year.¹⁰³ (ST10_2012_HU_01)
"The trend observed in the turnover data is also supported by the results of the qualitative survey carried out by the National Focal Point (Csák 2012, chapter 4.4.): the service providers contacted reported that with the appearance of synthetic cathinones injecting drug use also expanded, it could also be observed in communities where it had not been typical before. The effect of these substances lasts a shorter time, so they are injected more frequently, and this is why the demand for sterile injecting equipment has increased significantly in NSPs."