A review of the nature and extent of HIV infection among drug abusers in Europe concludes that HIV-infected drug abusers will soon place a heavy burden on both drug treatment facilities and specialized health care units. Meeting participants identified three essential phases in the development of training programs: assessment and information gathering, curriculum development, and implementation and evaluation. The development of a systematic training program must begin with an accurate assessment of the need for training. This should include an estimate of the prevalence rate of HIV infection among intravenous drug abusers and the number of AIDS cases in this population within the country. The training curriculum should have three interconnected and interactive parts: facts, attitudes, and skill development. The content of courses for drug treatment counselors should differ from that for administrators. Course content and training design and methods are discussed, along with techniques of implementation and evaluation.