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So far, needle-exchange programs in the Netherlands, Scotland and Australia tend to encourage that view. Since 1984 an estimated 70% of the 15,000 drug addicts in the Netherlands have registered in treatment programs, which allow health authorities to maintain regular contact with them for AIDS testing and counseling. The underlying strategy of New York health officials is similar. Says Commissioner Axelrod: "Our needle-exchange program has nothing to do with needles and syringes. The needle gets the addict in so we can educate and counsel." Still, some wonder if the project will even begin to curb the AIDS epidemic among IV drug users. "In view of the AIDS risk," says Dr. Jan Walburg, director of Amsterdam's Jellinek Clinic for substance abuse, "New York is starting much, much too late."