In the beginning of 1990s, drug use trend in Nepal shifted from oral to injection drug use due to severe law enforcement on illicit oral drugs together with an easy availability of injection pharmaceutical drugs like Buprenorphine (Brand name-Tidigesic) in all urban and sub-urban cities, highways and bordering districts. This switch in drug using trend and severe law enforcement escalated high risk behaviors amongst injecting drug users such as sharing & re-use of non-sterile syringes and injecting equipment, which resulted to a peak prevalence of HIV amongst people who inject drug (PWID); up to 68% in 2002 and more than 90% of Hepatitis C infection.

Confronted with this reality, around 2003 a group of individuals who use drugs met in a rehabilitation center in the process of their drug use treatment and agreed to take up some actions against harms of drug use and HIV & AIDS. Meanwhile some of them had been diagnosed HIV & Hepatitis C positive and others were struggling with social re-integration issue. Stigma and discrimination remained prevalent to PWU/IDs and PLHIVs, while proper drug and HIV treatment and care programs or alternatives were nominal.  Therefore, this group of PWID & PLHIV decided to stand for themselves and their constituencies via working together to address these gaps. 

Hence SATHI SAMUHA (Friends Group) was founded as a community-led organization of people who use/inject drugs and people living with HIV and AIDS in Kathmandu- Nepal. It is legally registered under the District Administrative Office-Kathmandu and is affiliated with the Social Welfare Council-Nepal on February 2006. Since then, the organization has grown and it currently is addressing on HIV & Hepatitis prevention, treatment and care programs along with advocating for the rights of PWID & PLHIV at local, national, regional and international levels. As the geographic and programmatic coverage of the organization is increasing and changing with time and with the demand of its beneficiaries, SATHI has also expanded its target populations and programmatic & geographic coverage.