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29th January 2009
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2009 Paolo Pertica Fellowship: Application Deadline Extended
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The deadline for applications for the 2009 Paolo Pertica Fellowship has been extended to 23:59 GMT on 28th February. The recipient of this award will receive up to €10,000 to fund an innovative project on harm reduction in prisons or other custodial settings. IHRA have already received a lot of interest in this award, but some applicants had encountered difficulties in submitting their applications – so the deadline has been extended by two weeks.
The Fellowship was established in 2004 to support the development of work with drug using prisoners around the world. In 2009, it will be linked to the annual IHRA international conferences for the first time – and awarded at Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference.
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26th January 2009
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IHRA Release New Report on Harm Reduction and Human Rights
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In January 2009, IHRA’s HR2 programme released a report entitled ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights: The Global Response to Drug-Related HIV Epidemics’. This report provides a concise overview of the global situation in terms of drug-related HIV epidemics worldwide, with a particular focus on the regions of Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub Saharan Africa.
The report also examines harm reduction within the context of international human rights law, addressing issues such as the right to health, abusive law enforcement practices and their effect on access to HIV prevention efforts and discrimination faced by people who use drugs in accessing HIV anti retroviral therapy.
As the foreword by Mr Anand Grover (UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health) states, “This report is part of the ongoing plea, which it eloquently makes, to adopt harm reduction universally. That plea needs to be heard and acted upon, sooner rather than later”.
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 Click here to view the report [PDF:958KB]
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26th January 2009
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Draft Conference Programme Created in Bangkok and London
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In December 2008, the draft programme for Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference was created in a three-day meeting of harm reduction experts in Bangkok and London. The ‘Executive Programme Committee’ selected the best of the 900 abstracts that had been submitted from all over the world, and the result is another high quality, comprehensive programme containing keynote speeches and a range of different sessions to appeal to, and cater for, all of our delegates.
Although subject to change, the draft programme is now available to download and the highlights include:
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- High-profile Opening and Closing Sessions featuring keynote speakers
- A Plenary Session on injecting drug use and HIV in Asia – including a presentation by Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
- A Plenary Session on ‘Harm Reduction and Human Rights’ (the conference theme) – including a presentation by Professor Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
- A Plenary Session on methamphetamine use – organised on the back of the 1st Global Methamphetamine Conference in 2008
- A Major Session on compulsory drug treatment – organised by UNODC and the Open Society Institute’s International Harm Reduction Development program
- A Major Session panel of regional parliamentarians discussing the subject of ‘The Decriminalisation of Drug Use’ (organised by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development)
- 13 other Major Sessions on a broad range of topics such as alcohol, law enforcement, employing people who use drugs, tuberculosis, harm reduction research and gender roles
- A ‘Lunchtime Lecture’ from Dr Ethan Nadelmann, the Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance in the USA
- 36 Concurrent Sessions covering our largest ever range of topics – including human rights, alcohol, tobacco, hepatitis, opiate substitution treatment, peer-driven approaches, policing, prisons, young people, poverty, sex work, drug-related deaths, conflicts, drug law reform, needle exchanges, psychosocial interventions, families, nursing and sex partying.
- Sessions dedicated to the host country and region – showcasing harm reduction in both Thailand and Asia – as well as sessions on drug user organising in Asia and the ‘Response Beyond Borders’ Asian Consultation.
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Click here to view the Harm Reduction 2009 FInal Programme [PDF:790KB]
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All of the Plenary and Major Sessions will also have simultaneous translation in Thai as well as the official conference language (English) – as will half of the Concurrent Sessions. More details about individual speakers and presentations will be available later in 2009 (once the speakers confirm their participation), and this draft programme will be regularly updated between now and April.
The conference itself is scheduled to take place from the 20th to the 23rd April 2009 at the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. This is IHRA’s 20th international conference, and these events have been held around the world each year since 1990. They have become key events for the harm reduction field and have helped to put harm reduction on the map and to coordinate advances, innovations, evidence and advocacy in this field.
In addition to the formal programme, there will also be a number of satellite meetings, around 400 poster presentations, a conference party on the evening of Wednesday 22nd April, the 6th International Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival, and a separate itinerary of engaging community-driven workshops.
For more information, please visit the conference website – www.ihraconferences.net – which is available in English and Thai, and contains all of the information you should need about the conference, including the programme, delegate fees, online registration, travel and accommodation, the conference partners and the supporting organisations.
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Click here to view the Harm Reduction 2009 Programme [PDF:790KB]
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26th January 2009
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January 2009 Article of the Month
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Jürgens R, Ball A & Verster A (2009) Interventions to Reduce HIV Transmission Related to Injecting Drug Use in Prisons. Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 9(1), 57-66.
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This comprehensive literature review examines the use of, and evidence for, various harm reduction interventions to reduce the transmission of HIV through injecting drug use in prison settings. Harm reduction in prisons has always been a controversial area of work – with many policy-makers reluctant to be seen as acknowledging the existence of drug use in prisons. However, as this review notes, “Existing data show that injecting drug use is a reality in many prison systems and that most incarcerated injecting drug users (IDUs) share injecting equipment. This creates environments that promote the transmission of blood-borne infections among prisoners”. Prisons, therefore, are a crucial risk environment that must be targeted in order to achieve universal access to HIV prevention – especially given that the size of the global incarcerated population is increasing.
This paper is part of a broader review programme of prison interventions – commissioned by the World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UNAIDS – to “guide countries in their efforts to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010”. As well as looking at data on drug use, injecting and HIV and HCV transmission in prisons, the paper examines the evidence base for the following harm reduction interventions:
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Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSP)
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Prison NSP schemes were found to exist in over 50 prisons in 12 different countries. The overwhelming evidence from these programmes was that NSPs in prisons helped to reduce (or even prevent) the sharing of injecting equipment, and to prevent new cases of injecting-related HIV in prisons. There was also evidence that these interventions helped to reduce overdoses, engage drug using prisoners into health services, increase the awareness of risks, and increase staff safety. Crucially, there was no evidence to support some of the common objections to NSP in prisons – there was no recorded incidence of syringes being used as weapons in prisons, and no reported increases in injecting drug use or the amount of drugs in prisons. The authors also noted that “Once in place, the acceptance of NSPs is generally high among staff and prisoners”.
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Opioid Substitution Therapies (OST)
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The provision of OST – usually in the form of methadone maintenance treatments – is much more common in prisons that NSP. Again, however, the evidence was very positive in favour of these interventions – especially when they were provided to prisoners in sufficiently high doses and for a suitably long duration of time. OST in prisons was associated with reductions in injecting, drug-seeking behaviours, HCV infection and mortality, as well as positive impacts on criminal recidivism, re-incarceration, and entry into post-release treatment.
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Bleach and Decontamination Strategies
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Many prison services – reluctant to provide NSP interventions due to unfounded fears about safety and drug use – provide instead bleach kits to disinfect and clean used injecting equipment. However, the research indicates that these interventions are “not supported by evidence” and that they “cannot replace NSPs” in terms of preventing HIV transmission in prisons.
Overall, this review outlines the clear evidence in support of harm reduction interventions in prisons, and – in the absence of randomised clinical trails which are unethical in these settings – provides the strongest available scientific support for this approach. As the authors note, “The rationale for establishing NSPs in prisons where injecting drug use takes place is even stronger than in the community”, and the same could be said about OST. Yet many countries do not have services and healthcare for prisoners that match those outside of these settings – presenting a huge challenge for advocates of harm reduction and for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.
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20th January 2009
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UN Reference Group Request Information on HIV Services for Injecting Drug Users
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The Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use has issued a call for information and assistance in gathering reports and papers documenting the provision of HIV prevention and care services for injecting drug users around the world. This information is needed to assist the Reference Group in determining the current levels of coverage of these essential services for people who inject drugs – and will allow for invaluable global comparisons to be made regarding the response to drug-related HIV. It is then hoped that such comparisons and data will assist the development of effective policy, programmatic and advocacy responses.
The Reference Group would be grateful if you could send them any existing reports – including non-English language documents – on the following:
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- Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSPs): including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as the number and locations of NSP sites, the numbers of syringes distributed, or the number of clients accessing services), data on both government- and NGO-provided NSP services, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on providing or allowing NSPs.
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- Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST): including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as the number and locations of OST sites, the number of individuals in treatment, or information on the duration of treatment and average doses), data on both government- and NGO-provided OST services, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on providing or allowing OST.
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- Other (Non-OST) Drug Dependence Treatment: including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as the types of treatment provided, the number and locations of treatment sites, the compulsory and non-compulsory nature of treatment, or the number of people in treatment), data on both government- and NGO-provided treatment services, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on providing drug dependence treatment.
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- HIV Testing and Counselling: including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as the number and locations of testing and counselling sites that provide services for injecting drug users, or data on the number of injecting drug users accessing these services), data on both government- and NGO-provided HIV testing and counselling services for injecting drug users, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on HIV testing and counselling services for people who use drugs.
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- Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART): including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as whether or not ART is provided, the number and locations of treatment sites, or the number of injecting drug users receiving ART), data on both government- and NGO-provided ART services for people who use drugs, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on providing ART for people who use drugs.
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- Condom Distribution Programmes: including reports by NGOs, UN agencies or governments, programme data on levels of service provision (such as the number and locations of sites that provide free condoms and are accessed by people who inject drugs, the number of condoms distributed to injecting drug users by these services, or the number of injecting drug users that access these services and receive condoms), data on both government- and NGO-provided condom programmes accessed by people who use drugs, and relevant policy documents that outline government positions on providing condoms for people who use drugs.
This request for information does not require the collection of any new data – only for the submission of existing data, reports and documents. The Reference Group would also be interested in receiving information and contact details for the NGOs that provide any of the above services in your country. Please forward any relevant materials and information to IDUreferencegroup@unsw.edu.au before 30th January 2009. Alternatively, for more details about the Reference Group and this call for information, please visit www.idurefgroup.com or contact Bradley Mathers.
The ‘Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use’ is an independent group that provides advice to UNAIDS, UNODC and WHO on technical issues related to injecting drug use and the prevention and care of HIV among people who inject drugs. It comprises over 20 experts in the field from around the world overseen by a Steering Committee of UN representatives, and is supported by a Secretariat from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Australia. In January 2009, Professor Gerry Stimson – the Executive Director of IHRA – was invited to join the Reference Group in recognition of over 40 years’ experience of research in this field. This appointment came after discussions between the Reference Group Secretariat and IHRA about how our work and activities could complement one-another to improve the evidence base for harm reduction and support global advocacy efforts.
Every year, the Reference Group gathers and analysis data from all countries and territories. In September 2008, they published a paper which estimated the global number of injecting drug users by reviewing over 11,000 documents from around the world (including published research, government papers and non-government reports). They concluded that there are 15.9 illion injecting drug users (IDU) in 148 countries around the world – around three million of whom could have HIV, and 40% of whom were estimated to be living in China, the USA and Russia. The report demonstrated that HIV driven by injecting drug use is a widespread, global problem, and the Reference Group called for increases in the coverage of harm reduction and HIV prevention, treatment and care.
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20th January 2009
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HCLU Launch ‘War on Drugs’ Poster and Video Competition
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The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) is now accepting submissions for a poster and video competition entitled ‘Unintended Consequences: The Global Drug War’. The competition is part of a broader HCLU campaign to raise awareness of some of the main issues around prohibition and the war on drugs ahead of the United Nation’s ten-year review of global drug control efforts (due to culminate in a high-level meeting at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna this year).
HCLU is looking for creative and emotive images and videos that graphically represent the everyday reality and impact of the war on drugs. The competition aims to contribute to this review by exploring the unintended consequences of drug control efforts in terms of public health, crime, risk environments and human rights. The deadline for poster submissions is February 20th 2009, and the deadline for video submissions is March 5th 2009. Once the entries have been received, HCLU plans to organise a poster exhibition in March 2009 in Vienna.
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HCLU was established in 1994 and is the leading drug policy reform NGO in Hungary. It provides legal aid services for vulnerable populations such as people who use drugs, and also assists harm reduction advocates and service providers with legal assistance, conferences, training and publications.
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19th January 2009
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Reminder: Nominate Someone for an IHRA Award
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Nominations are still being invited for the 2009 International Rolleston Award, the 2009 National Rolleston Award (Thailand), the 2009 Carol and Travis Jenkins Award, and the 2009 Paolo Pertica Fellowship – all of which will be presented during Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference in Bangkok in April. These awards represent an excellent opportunity to formally acknowledge and reward the excellent work of your colleagues or peers.
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International Rolleston Award
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This has been presented each year since 1992 to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the global harm reduction field. Nominations are invited from all around the world, but must be received before 28th January 2009.
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National Rolleston Award
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This will be presented to an individual or organisation in Thailand (the host country for Harm Reduction 2009) who have made outstanding contributions to reducing the harms of psychoactive substances in the country. Nominations are invited in English or in Thai, but must be received before 28th February 2009.
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Carol and Travis Jenkins Award
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This has been presented each year since 2004 to a current or former drug user who has made an outstanding contribution to reducing drug-related harm. Nominations are invited from around the world, but must be received before 28th January 2009.
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Paolo Pertica Fellowship
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This fellowship aims to encourage innovative harm reduction work and research in prisons and other custodial settings through the award of a one-year project grant of €7,500. Applications are currently being accepted from individuals or organisations in any country, but must be submitted before 28th January 2009.
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12th January 2009
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Georgian Petition Calls for Drug Legislation Changes
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In December 2008, the Georgian Harm Reduction Network submitted a petition containing 58,000 signatures in support of their legislative initiative to change the existing punitive national legislation around drug use and drug possession. This was the first time in Georgia’s history that a constitutional right of citizens to initiate changes in legislation was used in practice. The Georgian Harm Reduction Network and its allies spent 40 days outreaching and gathering support and the positive response was overwhelming – they actually collected nearly twice as many signatures as required by the constitution!
According to IHRA’s Global State of Harm Reduction 2008 report, Georgia is home to around 80,000 people who inject drugs. Despite the national strategies explicitly supporting harm reduction, however, the Global State report claims that “In Georgia, the current ‘War on Drugs’ has led to a huge increase in police activity and in the number of people apprehended for suspected drug use”. In fact, Georgia has one of the harshest drug policies in Europe, with tens of thousands of people being tested for drugs each year and then subjected to fines or criminal sanctions. In 2007 alone, the Georgian Government raised more than US$20 million through these fines – yet drug treatment and harm reduction services are limited (although the Government’s scale-up plan is currently under way).
In response to this situation, the Georgian Harm Reduction Network has proposed:
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- The removal of criminal liabilities for drug use
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- The establishment of clear legal distinctions between the possession of drugs for personal use and drug supply and dealing
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- The removal of administrative fines for drug use
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- The removal of restrictions set for drug users
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- The establishment of more specific obligations for the state to provide treatment for people who use drugs
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- A more humane approach to drug use which could reduce the country’s prison population and involve more people into the treatment services – improving the national socio-economical situation and reducing overall criminality
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Previous attempts by the Georgian Harm Reduction Network to advocate in the Georgian Parliament and change the country’s drug legislation were not successful. Therefore, on International Human Rights Day (December 10th), the Network decided to use the constitutional rights of citizens to initiate policy changes. The Parliament will schedule hearings of new suggested legislation sometime in early 2009.
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9th January 2009
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UN Human Rights Experts Contribute to Drug Policy Review
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment – Professor Manfred Nowak – and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health– Mr Anand Grover – have written to the Chairperson of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to “offer guidance” regarding human rights issues that have arisen during the UN’s ten-year drug strategy review.
The Special Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to address specific human rights themes or contexts. Their letter coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10th 2008, and was circulated to the CND delegations in Vienna to address issues such as harm reduction, extradition, ensuring access to essential medicines, and drug dependence treatment. The letter was intended to ensure “consistency with international commitments and obligations relating to human rights” in a new political declaration to be adopted at a High Level Meeting taking place in March.
IHRA very much welcomes this intervention, and the attention being paid to drug policy by the Special Rapporteurs in the context of their respective mandates. We hope that, over time, such activities will increase from UN human rights mechanisms and will begin to bridge the gap between the “parallel universes” of drug policy and human rights, as described by the Professor Paul Hunt (the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health) during a keynote speech during the 2008 IHRA conference in Barcelona. Both Professor Manfred Nowak and Mr Anand Grover will be speaking at Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Click here to view the Special Rapporteurs’ letter to CND [PDF:80KB]
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