New York (PTI): The United Nations anti-narcotics agency has joined forces with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) in a bid to rein in the spread of HIV among drug users.

In a programme called Treatnet II, OFID will provide $ 3 million to scale up drug prevention and treatment for those vulnerable to the spread of HIV.

"It will enable us to reach those who are marginalised because of their illness and provide them with proper treatment," said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

It will target Colombia, Haiti, Nicaragua and Peru in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia.

"Addiction and HIV are health problems with social consequences. Treatment is often a low priority in developing countries, and yet lack of treatment hurts development," Costa said.

UNODC is currently seeking funds for expanding the programme in South-East Asia.