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Overview
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 ‘Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference’ took place in Bangkok, Thailand from the 20th to 23rd April, and – despite the city being under a ‘state of emergency’ due to disturbances – brought together an incredible 1,000 delegates from 80 countries around the world, including many from Thailand and other Asian countries. Particular thanks for this achievement must go to the four Conference Partners - the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN), Population Services International (PSI), the Raks Thai Foundation, and the Thai Red Cross Society.
The four days were filled with sessions, presentations, meetings, events and workshops – discussing and debating the latest research findings, best practice guidelines, policy developments and advances in harm reduction programming worldwide. The conference theme was ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights’, and this was a recurring issue throughout the programme – from sessions which specifically documented some of the human rights violations committed in the name of drug control, to discussions about international advocacy, the United Nations’ work, and drug treatment. In particular, there was a lot of focus on the current situation faced by many people who use drugs in Asia – often characterised by poor access to harm reduction services and detention in compulsory ‘treatment’ centres. This was highlighted as early as the Opening Session on Monday 20th April by a dignified protest by Thai drug users and their allies, in which they called for “treatment not torture” while Seree Jintakanon from the ‘12-D’ network people working on drug issues in Thailand delivered a rallying speech.
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The Opening Session also included a Thai drum display, a formal welcome from Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paripatra (the Governor of Bangkok), a speech from Professor Gerry Stimson (Executive Director of the International Harm Reduction Association), and a keynote address from Professor Michel Kazatchkine (the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Professor Kazatchkine emphasised the need for drug policy reform and the decriminalisation of drug use as part of a public health approach – a point that was raised throughout the conference. This statement of intent from a senior international policy maker was received with a standing ovation from the delegates and attracted a great deal of media interest from around the world. The Opening Session speeches also highlighted the huge discrepancy which exists between the identified resources that are needed for global harm reduction, and the current level of global funding – an issue which gained much attention during the rest of the conference.
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The Opening Session was followed by a Plenary Session on ‘Injecting Drug Use and HIV: A Comprehensive Review of the Situation and Response in Asia’ (which included a presentation from Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health), a lunchtime session organised by the Global Fund (who also hosted a ‘Dialogue Space’ throughout the week to allow delegates to meet key international leaders), 12 Concurrent Sessions (on a range of issues including hepatitis C, harm reduction donors, policing, drug law reform, alcohol harm reduction, research and opiate substitution treatment), poster presentations, workshops and the opening of the 6th International Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival.
The second day of the conference - Tuesday 21st April – opened with an engaging Plenary Session which further discussed the conference theme of ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights’ and included presentations from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and representatives of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit in India. This was followed by the first Major Sessions of the conference – a session on tuberculosis services organised by the World Health Organization, a session on compulsory drug treatment organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Harm Reduction Development programme, and a session on methamphetamine use in Asia.
The Tuesday afternoon included a lunchtime session and Concurrent Session dedicated to harm reduction developments in the host country. The conference was well timed for Thailand in that it came during discussions about a new national harm reduction policy – and just before a major national grant from the Global Fund. There were also Concurrent Sessions on poverty, integrated services, prisons, young people, harm reduction in Asia, drug-related deaths, and sex work – as well as more workshops, poster presentations and film screenings.
In a change from the usual IHRA conference structure, Wednesday 22nd April opened with two sets of Major Sessions covering issues such as young people, legal interventions, research, employing drug users, and risk environments. There was also a panel discussion featuring some of the leading parliamentarians from across Asia - organised by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development and supported by UNAIDS. These sessions were followed by a ‘Lunchtime Lecture’ (another first for the IHRA conferences) by Dr Ethan Nadelmann, the Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance in the USA, who discussed the potential implications of their new Presidency for harm reduction and global drug policies.
The Wednesday afternoon included Concurrent Sessions on needle exchange, qualitative research, women, psychosocial interventions, drug user organisations in Asia, children and families, human rights violations, and tobacco harm reduction. The conference party also took place that evening with delegates enjoying a poolside dinner, the presentation of the 2009 IHRA Awards, and a wonderful performance from ‘Kormix’ – a hip hop group of Khmer drug users from Korsang– Cambodia’s only harm reduction programme. Korsang brought a delegation of around 30 staff, peer educators and people who use drugs to the conference, and were given a $1,000 donation at the party by the Conference Consortium for their wonderful work.
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The final day of the conference – Thursday 23rd April – opened with two sets of Major Sessions on issues such as drinking patterns in Asia, engaging law enforcement agencies, gender issues, the war on drugs, and nursing. There was also a panel discussion on the recent ‘UN High Level Segment’ on Drug Control, which reflected on the disappointing meeting in Vienna and the implications and future directions for international drug policy advocacy - organised by the International Drug Policy Consortium. These sessions were followed by the third and final Plenary Session, which focussed on methamphetamine use – a phenomenon which is increasing across the globe (and especially in Asia), and for which the harm reduction field must develop appropriate and effective responses. This session was organised by the Global ATS Working Group and included four of the best presentations from the ‘1st Global Methamphetamine Conference’ in Prague in 2008.
The conference then closed with the presentation of the 2009 Film Festival Award and the 2009 Bonnie Devlin Memorial Scholarship, a brief summary of proceedings from Professor Nicholas Crofts (the appointed conference rapporteur) and an impassioned keynote address from Craig McClure, the Executive Director of the International AIDS Society. After five years in his current position, Mr McClure reflected on the politics surrounding harm reduction, the global responses to HIV, and the evolving status of injecting drug use within these responses. He told delegates that the Russian Government’s refusal to legalise methadone and introduce adequate needle exchange programmes was allowing an HIV epidemic in the country to go unchecked, and that, globally, “Blatant and wilful denial of the evidence can only be based on deep-seated fear. Fear drives the global war on drugs. Fear drives abuse by doctors and others in the medical system of people who use drugs and the continuing use of so-called ‘treatments’ that might more accurately be called ‘torture’”.
Overall, Harm Reduction 2009 highlighted how far harm reduction has progressed and where there are still huge challenges to be overcome. The event brought together health workers, law enforcement, human rights activists, people who use drugs, frontline workers, policy makers and researchers. Around half of the delegates were attending an international harm reduction conference for the first time, which vindicated IHRA’s decision to hold this year’s event in Asia and in Thailand, and showed that new people were becoming engaged with this field. In total, there were over 60 sessions across the four days – showcasing over 200 presentations and 250 posters exhibitions. Crucially, there was a great sense of energy and enthusiasm throughout the event. There were countless discussions and meetings to improve partnership working and advocacy across Thailand, Asia and the rest of the world – and plenty of work to do before the next event in England in April 2010!
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Programme & Abstracts
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 Harm Reduction 2009 Conference Programme [PDF:748KB]
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Abstract Book – Downloadable Version [PDF:1.43MB]
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Conference Newsletters
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In order to keep delegates up-to-date with the latest developments and announcements during the event – and to provide a record of proceedings – Drink and Drug News produce a series of ‘Daily Update’ newsletters.
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Tuesday 21st April – Downloadable Version [PDF:589KB]
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Wednesday 22nd April – Downloadable Version [PDF:607KB]
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Thursday 23rd April – Downloadable Version [PDF:492KB]
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English Language Media Coverage
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Sunday 19th April
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Monday 20th April
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Tuesday 21st April
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Thursday 23rd April
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Post-Conference
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Presentations & Videos – Monday 20th April
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Opening Session
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Plenary Session (P1)
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Injecting Drug Use and HIV: A Comprehensive Review of the Situation and Response in Asia
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Lunchtime Session (L1)
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Scaling-Up Harm Reduction: Achievements and Challenges (Organised by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria)
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Concurrent Session (C1)
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Hepatitis C Risk and Prevention
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Concurrent Session (C2)
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Harm Reduction Donors: Feedback, Opportunities and Challenges (Supported by the Dutch Government)
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Concurrent Session (C3)
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Policing, Treatment and Rights (Supported by the International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute)
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Concurrent Session (C4)
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Drug Law Reform: Challenges and Implications
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Concurrent Session (C5)
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Monitoring Drug-Related Harms
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Concurrent Session (C6)
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Opiate Dependence Treatment
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Concurrent Session (C7)
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The Effectiveness of Peer Driven Approaches
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Concurrent Session (C8)
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Response Beyond Borders: The Asian Consultation on HIV Prevention Related to Drug Use
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Concurrent Session (C9)
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Harm Reduction Advocacy and Emerging Issues
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Concurrent Session (C10)
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Alcohol Issues and Interventions (Organised by the Global Alcohol Harm
Reduction Network)
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Concurrent Session (C11)
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Methods of Harm Reduction Research
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Concurrent Session (C12)
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Evaluations of Opiate Substitution Treatment
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Presentations & Videos – Tuesday 21st April
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Plenary Session (P2)
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Harm Reduction and Human Rights (Organised by IHRA’s ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights’ programme)
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Major Session (M1)
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Collaborative TB and HIV Services for Drug Users (Organised by the World Health Organization)
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Major Session (M2)
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Compulsory Drug Dependence Treatment Centres: Costs, Rights and Evidence (Supported by the UNODC and the International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute)
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Major Session (M3)
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Methamphetamine Use in South East Asia: Implications and Responses
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Lunchtime Session (L2)
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Harm Reduction in Thailand: Feedback from the Thai Satellite
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Concurrent Session (C13)
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Harm Reduction in Thailand
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Concurrent Session (C14)
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Poverty, Marginalisation and Drug Use
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Concurrent Session (C15)
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Alcohol Policies and Social Marketing: Changing Drinking Cultures (Supported by the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand)
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Concurrent Session (C16)
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Integrated Services for People Who Use Drugs
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Concurrent Session (C17)
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Prisons and Closed Settings (Supported by the International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute)
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Concurrent Session (C18)
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Young People Who Use Drugs
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Concurrent Session (C19)
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Harm Reduction in Asia
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Concurrent Session (C20)
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Harm Reduction in Conflict and Disaster Zones
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Concurrent Session (C21)
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Pharmaceutical Opioid Use: Epidemiology and Implications for Public Health (Organised by the Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use)
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Concurrent Session (C22)
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Meeting the Needs of Drug Users Living with HIV
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Concurrent Session (C23)
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Researching and Preventing Drug-Related Death
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Concurrent Session (C24)
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Sex Work and Substance Use
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Presentations & Videos – Wednesday 22nd April
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Major Session (M4)
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What Are Our Rights?: Young People, Drugs and Harm Reduction (Organised by Youth RISE)
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Major Session (M5)
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Legal Interventions: Reducing Harms and Improving Rights (Organised by Release)
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Major Session (M6)
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Evidence in Harm Reduction (Organised by the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour)
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Major Session (M7)
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Employing Drug Users in Harm Reduction (A “Users Choice” session organised by the International Network of People who Use Drugs)
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Major Session (M8)
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Parliamentary Panel Discussion: The Decriminalisation of Drug Use (Organised by the Asian Forum of
Parliamentarians on Population and Development and supported by UNAIDS)
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Major Session (M9)
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Risk Environments and Drug Harms (Dedicated to the memory of Dr Bruce Johnson)
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Concurrent Session (C25)
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Human Rights and Drug Law Reform
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Concurrent Session (C26)
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Needle and Syringe Exchange Programmes (Part One)
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Concurrent Session (C27)
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Qualitative Studies and Harm Reduction Contexts
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Concurrent Session (C28)
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Harm Reduction Services for Women
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Concurrent Session (C29)
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Illicit Drug Use, Intensive Sex Partying and Risk (Organised by ACON)
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Concurrent Session (C30)
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Psychosocial Services for HIV Prevention and Harm Reduction (Organised by Family Health International)
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Concurrent Session (C31)
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Drug User Organising in Asia (A “Users Choice” session organised by the International Network of People who Use Drugs)
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Concurrent Session (C32)
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Needle and Syringe Exchange Programmes (Part Two)
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Concurrent Session (C33)
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Risk Behaviours Among Injecting Drug Users
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Concurrent Session (C34)
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Children and Families Affected by Drug Use
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Concurrent Session (C35)
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Human Rights Violations in the War on Drugs: Linking Documentation to Advocacy (Organised by IHRA’s ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights’ programme)
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Concurrent Session (C36)
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Tobacco Use and Harm Reduction (Organised by TobaccoHarmReduction.org: A project of the University of Alberta School of Public Health)
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Presentations & Videos – Thursday 23rd April
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Major Session (M10)
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An Analysis of Drinking Patterns in Four Asian Countries (Organised by the International Center for Alcohol Policies)
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Major Session (M11)
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Harm Reduction Advocacy with Law Enforcement Agencies (Organised by the Nossal Institute for Global Health and the UNODC Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific)
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Major Session (M12)
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Drug Policy, Gender Roles and Women Who Use Drugs (Organised by UNODC and the International Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute)
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Major Session (M13)
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The UN High Level Segment on Drug Control: Reflections and Implications for International Drug Policy (Organised by the International Drug Policy Consortium)
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Major Session (M14)
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Can Harm Reduction End the Drug War? (Organised by Transform Drug Policy Foundation)
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Major Session (M15)
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Developing the Role of Nurses in Harm Reduction Policy and Practice (Organised by the International Nursing Harm Reduction Network)
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Plenary Session (P3)
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Methamphetamine
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Closing Session
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IHRA Awards
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In 2009, for the first time, two International Rolleston Awards were awarded, as the Awards Committee were unable to choose between two exceptional candidates - Ralf Jürgens from Canada, and Sam Friedman from the USA.
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 The first International Rolleston Award was presented to Ralf Jürgens – one of the leading international pioneers in the field of harm reduction, human rights and prison health. In 1998, he helped to found the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and then served for six years as its Executive Director. Since 2004, he has worked as a consultant on HIV/AIDS, health, policy and human rights in Ukraine, Russia, Tajikistan, Zambia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Canada – for organisations such as the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the Open Society Institute, WHO, UNODC, UNDP, UNAIDS, the International Affairs Directorate of Health Canada, and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. He is a member of the UN Global Reference Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. He has authored over 100 articles on legal, ethical and human rights issues related to HIV. In 2007, he also authored a seminal review of the evidence for effective HIV prevention and harm reduction in prisons – an ‘Evidence for Action’ technical paper from the World Health Organization, UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UNAIDS entitled Effectiveness of Interventions to Address HIV in Prisons.
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The second International Rolleston Award was presented to Dr. Samuel Friedman, the Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research in New York, USA. Sam has been an inspirational figure to generations of social researchers and user activists in the field of harm reduction. He has worked tirelessly for decades to promote evidence and action, and has authored over 350 publications on topics as diverse as HIV, sexually transmitted infections, drug use, epidemiology and prevention, the social research needs of the AIDS field, the impact of economic and political crises on HIV risk in Buenos Aires, women injectors, war and HIV, and drug user organisations. He is Associate Editor for Social Science of the International Journal of Drug Policy and is (or has recently been) on the editorial boards of AIDS, JAIDS, AIDScience, AIDS Education and Prevention, and the Harm Reduction Journal. He is also a published poet who often presents readings at conferences on HIV/AIDS and/or on preventing drug-related harm.
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 The 2009 National Rolleston Award was presented to the founder members of the Thai Drug Users’ Network (TDN) – a grassroots organisation which formed in 2002 to promote the dignity and human rights of the estimated 100,000 people who use drugs in Thailand. They were awarded $1.3 million by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2003 to continue their hard work, advocacy and peer education. They worked in one of the most hostile political settings in the world and against the backdrop of a brutal government anti-drug campaign that resulted in as many as 3,000 deaths. TDN organised peaceful protests to bring their plight to national and global attention and, in 2004, were given the ‘Award for Action on AIDS and Human Rights’ at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok. Their courageous and peaceful work has earned them the respect and praise of harm reduction advocates around the world.
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 The 2009 Carol and Travis Jenkins Award was presented to Holly Bradford from Korsang – a peer-led organisation which provides harm reduction and health services to people who use drugs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In 2004, Holly founded the ‘Cambodian Harm Reduction Collaborative’ with three Cambodians who had been deported from the USA. Since then, this organisation has grown and become Korsang, which is now internationally renowned as an example of best practice in the field. She has helped to coordinate the organisation’s activities in an extremely difficult political environment – protecting her clients from police ‘round-ups’ and detention centres, and highlighting their plight to international policy makers, donors and the media. Korsang remains Cambodia’s only harm reduction programme, and Holly led a delegation of nearly 30 staff, peer educators and people who use drugs to the conference in Bangkok – including ‘Kormix’, a hip-hop group of Khmer drug users which played at the conference party.
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 In the Closing Session, the 2009 Bonnie Devlin Memorial Scholarship was presented to Dmytro Sherembey from the All Ukrainian Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS. Dmytro is a courageous advocate for the rights of people who use drugs to have access to the treatments they need – including those for HIV and tuberculosis. He helps people to overcome the structural barriers and stigma that stand between them and treatment – even confronting one doctor from Kiev on national television! Earlier in the conference, Dmytro had presented in a Major Session organised by the World Health Organization entitled ‘Collaborative TB and HIV Services for Drug Users’.
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 For the first time in 2009, the Paolo Pertica Fellowship was also presented. This award comprises a one year, €10,000 grant to encourage innovative harm reduction work or research in prisons, with the work to be presented at Harm Reduction 2010 in Liverpool. The 2009 Fellowship was presented to Dr. Saman Zamani, a Research Fellow from the Japanese Foundation for AIDS Prevention, who will be conducting research on methadone maintenance treatment and needle exchange inside Iranian prisons.
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Film Festival
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 The ‘6th International Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival’ took place in Bangkok from April 20th to 22nd as a parallel track in the conference programme. The Festival continues to grow in strength and popularity among the conference delegates and over 75 films were submitted for 2009 – of which 35 were selected to be screened. Overall, 21 countries were represented including – for the first time – films from Guinea Bissau, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, Italy, Macau, Mexico and Georgia. Another first for 2009 was a special session dedicated to animation and claymation films, which was enthusiastically received by the delegates. There were also two full feature-length documentary films which were shown in the evenings for conference delegates.
Highlights from the 6th Film Festival included ‘Facing the Dragon’ (from the UK and Thailand), ‘A Cleaner Fix’ (from Indonesia), ‘The US Verses Tommy Chong’ (from the USA), ‘Mum Loves Drugs Not Me’ (from the UK), and ‘Africa’s Cocaine Coast’ (from Guinea Bissau). The 2009 Film Festival Award was presented to ‘A Cleaner Fix’, an IRIN film which focussed on Indonesian outreach workers – former drug users whose work includes serving the various needs of people who use drugs to minimise risk behaviours and prevent the transmission of HIV.
The Film Festival is developed, managed and delivered by the Burnet Institute in Australia. The 2009 event was delivered with the assistance of Gary Reid from UNESCO in India.
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Feedback
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Please click here to view the Conference Feedback news article
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Photos
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Links
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If you have any presentations, photos, links or reports from Harm Reduction 2009 (or any other IHRA conference) that you would like to feature on these archive pages, please contact Jamie Bridge.
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