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Overview
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 The ‘12th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm’ took place from 1st – 5th April 2001 in New Delhi, India. The conference was organised by IHRA and SHARAN – a leading Indian NGO which addresses the needs of marginalised communities. The conference was also co-sponsored by UNAIDS, Rusan Pharmaceutical, the European Community, Family Health International and the Open Society Institute. The event attracted people from around the world for over 80 sessions across five days, and the overall theme was ‘Community Development for Harm Reduction’.
It was the first time that the annual harm reduction conference had been held in Asia, and only the second time that it had been held in a developing country. At the time, the host country (India) had the second highest national estimated numbers of HIV infections, with prevalence amongst injecting drug users ranging from 2% in Kolkata (West Bengal) to as much as 80% in Imphal (Manipur). Speaking at the Opening Session – alongside keynote speakers from the Indian Government, SHARAN, the UN Drugs and Crime Programme, World Health Organization, and UNAIDS – Pat O'Hare (the Executive Director of IHRA) claimed that "the epicentre of the HIV epidemic looks as if it will soon shift from Africa to Asia, where drug injection is now one of the main causes of the spread of the infection".
The conference was opened on Sunday 1st April by Luke Samson (the Conference President) and highlights during the week included:
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- Plenary sessions on ‘Harm Reduction and the Risk Environment’, ‘Community Development and Harm Reduction’, ‘Harm Reduction for Legal Drugs’ and ‘Harm Reduction and the Criminal Justice System’
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- The 2001 Rolleston Oration delivered by Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance
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- A special session organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on ‘Drug-Related HIV Risk in Asia, Livelihoods & Communities’.
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Presentations
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IHRA Awards
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 The International Rolleston Award was awarded to Fabio Mesquita, a physician and leading harm reduction advocate from Brazil, in recognition of his instrumental role in introducing harm reduction to Latin America (introducing the first needle exchanges in Sao Paulo in 1989). Fabio was also a founding member of IHRA, the Latin American Harm Reduction Network (RELARD) and the Brazilian Harm Reduction Network (REDUC).
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Click here to view the history of the International Rolleston Award
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 The National Rolleston Award was awarded to Jimmy Dorabjee in recognition of his commitment and progressive approach to harm reduction in India and across Asia. At the time of the conference, Jimmy was the Programme Manager of drug treatment services at SHARAN - a leading NGO in India and the co-hosts for the conference. Jimmy was also the Chair of the Asian Harm Reduction Network Executive Committee. In 2001, Jimmy joined the Burnet Institute’s Centre for Harm Reduction, and is currently the Deputy Director and Principal Fellow.
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Click here to view the history of the National Rolleston Award
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Photos
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Click images to view larger
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Links
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If you have any presentations, photos, links or reports from the 12th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm (or any other IHRA conference) that you would like to feature on these archive pages, please contact Jamie Bridge.
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