Across the globe, HIV rates are climbing among sex workers and people who use drugs. One of the main reasons is that they are criminalized. Too often sex workers and drug users are forced to choose between protecting their health and staying safe from police harassment or arrest.

But a novel approach to law enforcement is changing this, and may prove as critical to HIV prevention as a condom or clean needle. Through partnerships with HIV experts and community groups, police from Kenya to Kyrgyzstan are realizing their role in the fight against HIV.

Above, Daniel Wolfe, director of the Open Society International Harm Reduction Development Program, talks about how police are working to implement harm reduction approaches to HIV prevention with these vulnerable populations. (2014-2:24 min.)