|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
23rd November 2009
|
INPUD Representative Appointed onto UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board
|
Five new members have joined the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) NGO Delegation for 2010 and 2011 – including Mat Southwell from the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD). The PCB is the governing body of UNAIDS – the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS – and comprises Member States, UNAIDS ‘Cosponsors’ and ten representatives of non-governmental organisations (split across five regions).
The NGO Delegation now comprises representatives from the following organisations:
|
- Africa: AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA)
|
- Africa: The AIDS Support Organization (TASO)
|
- Asia and Pacific: Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)
|
|
|
- Europe: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
|
- Latin America and Caribbean: Corporación Kimirina
|
- Latin America and Caribbean: Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)
|
- North America: Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN)
|
- North America: International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR)
|
|
Mat Southwell replaces Vitaly Djuma on the PCB as a leading drug use and harm reduction expert and advocate. Vitaly had been instrumental in securing strong agenda focus and commitments in terms of injecting drug use. Mat will work closely with harm reduction groups and networks around the world through the Network of Networks (which includes IHRA), through the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (of which both IHRA and INPUD are members), and also with an expert group within INPUD itself.
|
 |
|
20th November 2009
|
First MENAHRA Regional Conference is a Huge Success
|
The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) hosted the First Regional Harm Reduction Conference from the 16th to 18th November 2009, and the event was a great success. Nearly 200 participants attended from 25 countries across (and outside of) the region. There were three full days of engaging sessions, presentations and discussions – including more than 40 speakers on a range of different topics.
The conference formally opened with speeches from the Lebanese Government, the Drosos Foundation (who have funded the MENAHRA network to date), Elie Aaraj from MENAHRA, Professor Gerry Stimson from IHRA, , and Dr. Hussein Gezairi from the World Health Organization. In particular, Dr. Gezairi stated that “It is time to act” in the region – with drug use rising in many countries. Overall, the Middle East and North Africa region has a valuable opportunity to prevent extensive HIV epidemics among people who use drugs before they occur.
Elsewhere in the programme, there were Plenary presentations from IHRA’s Professor Pat O’Hare, Rick Lines and Jamie Bridge. IHRA also co-ordinated a parallel session alongside the International Drug Policy Consortium and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance – at which Catherine Cook presented on the global state of harm reduction. There were also panel discussions involving religious leaders, parliamentarians and representatives of major international bodies. There was also a film festival, conference party and awards ceremony.
The conference was an opportunity to showcase several excellent programmes and projects across the Middle East and North Africa – some of which had received funding from MENAHRA. The topics covered at the conference included needle and syringe programmes, substitution treatments, human rights, advocacy, policies, funding, research and peer interventions. There were also many discussions about the criminalisation of people who use drugs across the region and the harm caused by such approaches. There was a great deal of energy, interaction and engagement from the participants, who included representatives from civil society, governments, donors, networks, health services, research bodies and the media.
Crucially, it was also announced that opioid substitution therapy was soon going to be implemented in three new countries in the region – Lebanon, Afghanistan and Morocco. In Morocco, it was officially announced on the eve of the conference that an agreement had been signed by the Minister of Health formally approving the use of methadone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
18th November 2009
|
UN Report on HIV Testing and Counselling in Prisons
|
Over the last two years, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), together with UNAIDS, have been preparing a policy brief and technical paper on ‘HIV Testing and Counselling in Prisons and Other Closed Settings’. The document aims to ensure that incarcerated people are not forgotten by countries during efforts to scale-up overall access to HIV testing and counselling – if anything, these individuals are in even greater need of services and support than those in the community.
The document acknowledges that access to HIV prevention, treatment and care – including key harm reduction interventions – remains inadequate in most prison systems. For example, according to IHRA’s research, 77 countries around the world have needle and syringe programmes in community settings yet only ten countries have these services in prisons. However, the Policy Brief makes it clear that testing and counselling should never be conducted without the informed consent of the person tested.
The Policy Brief is based on a comprehensive review and analysis of the evidence and an extensive consultation process. UNODC and WHO are now encouraging advocated and partners around the world to disseminate the document as widely as possible – including to prison departments, national HIV programmes, civil society organisations, networks of people who use drugs and/or people living with HIV, human rights groups, and other relevant stakeholders.
|
|
|
|
|
16th November 2009
|
Delegate Feedback from ‘Harm Reduction 2009’ in Bangkok
|
Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference concluded on April 23rd 2009. The conference – held in Bangkok, Thailand – took place despite unprecedented challenges before hand, with a declared ‘state of emergency’ in the city amid widespread political protests. Nonetheless, the event received sterling reviews from 1,000+ conference participants from an estimated 80 countries worldwide. The success of the conference and the overwhelmingly positive feedback received is testament to the hard work of IHRA and the Conference Consortium and the four conference partners - the Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN), Population Services International (PSI), the Raks Thai Foundation and the Thai Red Cross Society.
|
Conference Strengths
|
The feedback surveys gauged the full breadth of the conference experience – including the relevance of the topics, the quality of the speakers, the quality of the printed materials, the value for money and more. Interestingly, half of the respondents indicated that this was their first international harm reduction conference, justifying the decision by IHRA to take the conference to Asia and to Thailand.
On the online feedback forms, delegates either “Agreed” or “Strongly Agreed” that:
|
- ‘The sessions and topics were well chosen and relevant’ (81 %)
|
- ‘The sessions and topics were useful for my work’ (76 %)
|
- They ‘made new contacts with harm reduction colleagues’ (79 %)
|
- ‘The speakers were knowledgeable and informative (74 %)
|
- They ‘gained new knowledge about harm reduction’ (63 %)
|
|
In addition, nearly three quarters of delegates indicated that the ‘Quality of the printed conference materials’ was ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, with a similar percentage rating the conference staff equally highly.
|
Improvements Made, and Areas to Focus On
|
In some areas, the 2009 conference received better feedback than Harm Reduction 2008 in Barcelona, Spain. For example, the food and refreshments in Bangkok received a positive review from 82% of respondents, and 56% felt there was enough time allowed for questions and discussion – both of which were areas identified for improvement in 2008. Naturally, the latter statistic in particular leaves much room for improvement, and this (and other feedback) will all be taken into account for 2010.
All of the strengths and weaknesses identified in the feedback surveys will assist IHRA in preparations for Harm Reduction 2010 in Liverpool, England. We would like to thank all of the delegates who took the time to offer their comments and feedback, and we look forward to welcoming you to Liverpool.
|
|
|
13th November 2009
|
IHRA and IAS Welcome Continuing Global Fund Support for Harm Reduction in Russia
|
The International AIDS Society (IAS) and IHRA have issued a press release welcoming the announcement by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) that it is extending its funding of NGO-led HIV prevention programmes in Russia (known as the 'GLOBUS' project) by two years - at an additional cost of US$24 million.
“This two-year extension will save thousands of lives,” said Robin Gorna (Executive Director of the International AIDS Society), "but it is nevertheless a band-aid measure, not a long-term solution. External funding cannot prop up Russia’s HIV response forever. The onus is still on the Russian Government to listen to the science and 20 years of proven practice and put in place long-term harm reduction prevention programmes that will save tens of thousands of young Russian lives”.
According to Professor Gerry Stimson (the IHRA Executive Director), “Pressure on the Global Fund to maintain programmes that address the issue of HIV and injecting drug use has succeeded where, lamentably, pressure on the Russian Government to implement similar interventions continues to fall on deaf ears. The Russian Government has to leave ideology aside and introduce some long-term harm reduction measures or else it is looking down the barrel of a severe long-term health crisis”.
An estimated one million people are living with HIV in Russia, and an estimated 1.85 million Russians (two percent of the adult population) inject drugs - one of the highest rates in the world. The 'GLOBUS' Project - Russia's first approved Global Fund project - addresses the needs of specific groups including people who inject drugs and claims to have averted an estimated 37,000 HIV infections. The funding for this programme ended in August 2009 and - due to Global Fund rules about providing support to richer nations - was not going to be renewed, leaving the programmes under threat in the absence of any state funding or support. However, widespread campaigns and lobbying have convinced the Global Fund board to make an exception and continue the funding.
IHRA and the IAS are now calling on the Russian Government to respond with increased financial resources themselves - as well as widespread availability of confidential and free drug treatment services, and the removal of legal and regulatory barriers that inhibit evidence-based HIV prevention and drug treatment programmes. In particular, IHRA and IAS are calling for the repeal of laws in Russia that limit or prohibit opioid substitution therapy (OST) and access to clean needles and syringes - both of which have proven effectiveness and are endorsed by the United Nations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
9th November 2009
|
Call for Abstracts: XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS2010)
|
The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria from the 18th to the 23rd July 2010. The conference is convened by the International AIDS Society alongside numerous local, regional and international partners – including the Austrian Government, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) – and regularly attracts over 20,000 participants.
Between now and February 10th 2010, the conference is welcoming abstract submissions for six programme tracks – ‘Basic Science’, ‘Clinical Sciences’, ‘Epidemiology and Prevention Sciences’, ‘Social and Behavioural Sciences’, ‘Economics, Operations Research, Care and Health Systems’, and ‘Policy, Law, Human Rights and Political Science’. Once submitted, abstracts will be scored by an international panel of reviewers and then the programme will be created by the planning committees by May 2010. The conference organisers have also created an ‘Abstract Mentor Programme’ for 2010 to allow young or less experienced contributors to gain advice and guidance from more experienced abstract writers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
6th November 2009
|
Response Beyond Borders Announce Second Asian Consultation on HIV and Drug Use
|
The ‘Second Asian Consultation on the Prevention of HIV Related to Drug Use’ will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from the 21st to the 23rd January 2010. This important event follows on from the ‘First Asian Consultation’ (in Goa, January 2008) and the three subsequent sub-regional workshops which were held in South-East Asia, South Asia and Central Asia during 2008 and 2009.
The event will be run by Response Beyond Borders (the ‘Asian Consortium on Drug Use, HIV, AIDS and Poverty’) – a voluntary network of prominent NGOs and service providers from Asia. This Consortium was launched in January 2008 to promote cooperation on key regional issues – such as HIV prevention, access to health, food, harm reduction, and poverty alleviation – and highlight the need for governments, civil society and affected populations to collaborate across Asia.
The ‘Second Asian Consultation’ will include the official launches of the Asian Network of People Using Drugs and the ‘Asian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Harm Reduction’. The event will bring together key parliamentarians and policy makers, and participants from national AIDS programmes, drug control agencies, prominent NGOs, international donors, the United Nations, frontline services, and drug using communities. For more information, please contact secretariat@responsebeyondborders.com, or visit www.responsebeyondborders.com.
|
|
|
4th November 2009
|
Contributions Needed for European Hepatitis C Project
|
The European Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) is seeking to produce a publication that outlines, reviews and shares useful examples of interventions, programmes and policies that represent good practice across Europe in relation to hepatitis C (HCV). To guide this work, EHRN is seeking contributions and information from across Europe on a broad range of issues and services relating to HCV – including specialist services for injecting drug users, advocacy and lobbying experiences, HCV treatment programmes, the role and practice of healthcare professionals, low threshold testing and counselling services, peer education projects, self-organisation of people living with HCV, and awareness-raising or anti-discrimination campaigns.
The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a largely neglected issue both at national and international levels despite a staggering number of infections – especially amongst people who use drugs. This important piece of work will be undertaken by Correlation – funded by the European Commission – to improve of HCV prevention, care and treatment for vulnerable and high risk populations across Europe. Your contributions will help to ensure that the final publication represents current practice and experiences.
If you think you have some useful information and experiences that can be used as best practice and learning for others, please submit a short summary of up to 350 words – describing the setting of the intervention or policy, the activities themselves, the results achieved, and how and why it was innovative and successful. These summaries should be sent to simona@harm-reduction.org before November 15th 2009.
Once submitted, the summaries will all be reviewed and the best ones will be chosen for inclusion in the report – at which point those contributors will be contacted for more information. The final publication will be released in time for World Hepatitis Awareness Day on May 19th 2010.
|
|
|
3rd November 2009
|
Australian Report Shows Four-Fold Return on Investment for Needle and Syringe Programmes
|
A recent report commissioned by the Australian Department of Health and Ageing shows that every dollar that is spent on Australia’s needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) eventually saves the National and State Governments four dollars. This saving comes through the prevention of life-threatening infections such as HIV. The report – entitled ‘Return on Investment 2: Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of needle and syringe programs in Australia’ – found that Australia spent a total of Aus$ 243 million between 2000 and 2009 on distributing around 30 million needles and syringes a year from nearly 1,000 different sites around the country (including drug services, pharmacies and vending machines). Using a range of clinical, behavioural and economic data, researchers at the University of New South Wales analysed how effective NSPs have been in preventing HIV and hepatitis C during this time. They found that these programmes directly prevented more than 32,000 cases of HIV infection and almost 100,000 cases of hepatitis C since 2000 – representing a saving in healthcare costs of Aus$ 1,280 million.
The report also indicated that an additional 50% increase in the distribution of sterile injecting equipment through NSPs could lead to a further 37% decrease in HIV and a further 23% decrease in hepatitis C cases over the next 10 years. According to Professor David Wilson (who led the research team), “After more than two decades of successful operation, NSPs remain a cornerstone of Australia’s HIV prevention strategy and a primary reason for why we have largely contained the epidemic in this country. Additionally, Australia’s NSPs have proven to be a foundation for preventing transmission of the more infectious hepatitis C virus. This study provides strong evidence to suggest that increased spending should be invested in expanding NSPs. Not only would it significantly reduce health burdens but it will ultimately save Australian taxpayers substantial amounts of money”.
|
|
|
|
|
2nd November 2009
|
UN Reference Group Issue Call for Nominations
|
The Reference Group to the United Nations on HIV and Injecting Drug Use is currently seeking nominations for members for 2010. This is a unique and important opportunity to contribute to the development of global policy on HIV and injecting drug use. Members are required to contribute to the development of documents produced by the Reference Group - which will include:
|
- Reviews of previous research findings from the Reference Group and implications for program and policy development and advocacy
|
- A consensus document identifying emerging trends and issues and ongoing challenges and recommendations to address these intended to inform the development of UN policy.
|
|
The UN Reference Group was established in 2002 to provide evidence-based advice to the United Nations on issues related to injecting drug use and HIV. It is an independent group comprising experts active in the field from around the world. The Reference Group provides reviews of current knowledge and research across a number of domains and communities. This role includes regularly reviewing the global epidemiology of HIV and injecting drug use, as well as the global state of HIV prevention and care services for people who inject drugs. All reviews are endorsed by consensus by the Group.
Applications and nominations should be made in writing before Friday 20th November 2009 and submitted to IDUreferenceGroup@unsw.edu.au – including a current Curriculum Vitae and a covering letter. Successful applicants will demonstrate an understanding of issues in this field across all world regions. Applications are welcomed from people living with HIV and those who are current or former injecting drug users – but current employees of UN organisations are not eligible to apply.
|
|
|
|
|
|
