Harm Reduction Networks
Harm reduction networks and knowledge hubs exist around the world, representing a diversity of regions, countries and populations. These networks vary enormously in size, scope and capacity, but follow the same broad approach and work closely together as equal partners in a ‘Network of Networks’ to promote harm reduction on a global basis.
The ‘networks approach’ is a relatively inexpensive and accessible way to empower civil society and advocates for harm reduction, and one that has been employed in this sector for over a decade. Networks allow individuals, organisations and populations to come together and gain collective strength in terms of political influence, capacity, funding, and knowledge exchange. On their own, advocates for people who use drugs and harm reduction are often unable to engage in national, regional or international decision making. As part of a network, however, they can increase their capacity to do so through the sharing of experiences and joint action. Networking can therefore encourage and foster the development of civil society advocacy.
The Network of Networks is an informal coalition, originally formed at the IHRA conference in Brazil in 1998. It provides a forum enabling individual networks to share information, concerns and experiences, and to work together where required to campaign and advocate for harm reduction. The focus on the 'Network of Networks' includes not only HIV, but also drug-related health concerns such as viral hepatitis, tuberculosis and overdose as well as the negative social consequences of drug policy. The ‘Network of Networks’ recognises the autonomy of existing networks, but links them together in order to further enhance their capacity and their potential to create a global political environment that unreservedly supports harm reduction interventions.
The 'member' networks operate in a range of cultural, political and religious contexts – from North America and the Caribbean to Asia, Africa and the Middle East to Europe and Central Asia. There are also global networks (including the International Harm Reduction Association) and national networks (particularly from countries that are not represented within regional networks).
IHRA supported networks
IHRA provides financial, logistical and/or organisational support to a number of new and emerging Harm Reduction Networks:
The European Harm Reduction Network (EuroHRN)
Has been recently formed by ten
organisations with a shared interest in advocating for and sharing
knowledge on harm reduction within Europe. It is made up of three
sub-regional networks covering North, South and Eastern Europe and
managed by a coordinator based at the International Harm Reduction
Association in the UK. The Network is funded by the EC.
* The North Europe Sub-Regional Network is led by Foundation De Regenboog Groep(the Netherlands) and Akzept (Germany).
* The South Europe Sub-Regional Network is led by APDES (Portugal).
* The Eastern Europe Sub-Regional Network is led by the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (Lithuania).
A specialist project on drug user networking is coordinated by ASUD (French national drug user organisation) working in partnership with the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD).
EuroHRN is coordinated by the International Harm Reduction Association and is advised by a Steering Group of ten organisations who manage the development of the project.
Youth RISE (Resource, Information, Support, Education)
Established in 2006, Youth RISE
is an international youth-driven network working with young people to
reduce the risks and harms associated with substance use. It focuses on
youth peer leadership and recognises the specific barriers that young
people face when it comes to accessing harm reduction services,
advocating for harm reduction interventions or engaging in the policies
and decisions at national, regional and international levels that affect
their lives. Youth RISE works in partnerships with IHRA, UNICEF and
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA) – amongst others.
www.youthrise.com
International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD)
Established in 2007, INPUD is first
global advocacy group organised and governed by people who use drugs.
INPUD’s mission is to promote ‘Rights, Justice and Empowerment’, and it
aims to ensure the representation of people who use drugs in
international policy dialogue, to enable a growth in self-determining
drug user organisations and to build alliances within civil society and
beyond. Through regional structures (currently under development), INPUD
engages in policy work, networking, skills-building, training, capacity
building, and the provision of a forum for sharing ideas, technical
information and strategies. http://www.druguserpeaceinitiative.org/
Sub-Saharan Africa Harm Reduction Network (SAHRN)
SAHRN was established in 2007 with
support from IHRA. Its mission statement is to promote harm reduction
approaches to all psychoactive substances in sub-Saharan Africa by
ensuring the spread of the harm reduction principles and building
networks to share knowledge and experiences. Its activities include
policy work, networking, advocacy and skills building, and its aims for
the region are to enable knowledge exchange, provide a supportive
environment for harm reduction, and to get harm reduction on the
political agenda. http://sahrn.net/
Caribbean Harm Reduction Coalition (CHRC)
CHRC is a coalition of Caribbean drug
treatment service providers that believe that abstinence-only treatment
does not serve the wider drug using population, and therefore believe in
and support harm reduction interventions. CHRC is pioneering work on
HIV care and treatment ‘on the street’, using peer outreach workers as
adherence counsellors to make meaningful contacts with homeless
HIV-positive crack smokers. CHRC members are committed to assisting
individuals and communities by initiating and promoting education,
interventions, and community organising programmes that focus on
reducing drug related harm.
www.caribbeanharmreductioncoalition.htmlplanet.com
Middle East and North African Harm Reduction Network (MENAHRA)
MENAHRA was established in 2006
with support from the World Health Organization and IHRA, and funding
from the Drosos Foundation in Switzerland. It aims to develop harm
reduction across the Middle East and North Africa, and comprises three
sub-regional knowledge hubs (housed in Lebanon, Morocco and Iran).
MENAHRA engages in capacity building, training, advocacy, research and
documentation, and networking. It has also provided funding directly to
service providers to implement harm reduction programmes.
www.menahra.org
Networks we work with:
Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction Network (LEAHRN)
The Law Enforcement And Harm Reduction Network – LEAHRN – has been established as a means of connecting people who are involved in harm reduction, particularly health service providers, and those working in law enforcement. LEAHRN connects people – for example police with harm reduction experience can be connected to other police who seek this knowledge – and so works as a type of ‘peer education program’.
LEAHRN’s aim is to create a partnerships approach to reducing the harm associated with drug use, particularly the spread of HIV.
LEAHRN is all about sharing information and experience. Through LEAHRN, experienced police and harm reduction workers located anywhere in the world can be engaged in this process, and are able to provide practical advice to other police and harm reduction workers about supporting local harm reduction programs. By demonstrating and generating leadership and direction from within the enquiring country or region, it is envisaged that locally driven solutions to harm reduction approaches will work more effectively and reach the target population with fewer barriers. http://www.leahrn.org/
International Nursing Harm Reduction Network (INHRN)
INHRN is an international coalition
of nurses, midwives and health visitors working in a variety of
community, prison and acute care hospital settings. Globally, there are
over 12 million nurses, midwives and health visitors, and these
individuals are uniquely placed to promote, adopt and implement harm
reduction strategies around the world. Their day-to-day work brings them
into contact with substance users, making them key players in the
promotion of harm reduction.
http://inhrn.net
Women’s Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN)
WHRIN is a global
platform to reduce the harms associated with drug use by women and to
develop an enabling environment for the implementation and expansion of
harm reduction resources for women. Many women who use drugs –
especially those who are pregnant or have children – feel 'left out' of
existing harm reduction activities. WHRIN aims to provide a forum to
discuss the needs of – and challenges faced by – women who use drugs,
advocate for harm reduction policies and programmes for women and girls,
and provide access to high quality resources which assist women who use
drugs.
www.talkingdrugs.org/womens-harm-reduction-group
Asian Harm Reduction Association (AHRN)
AHRN was established in 1996 to link
and support those operating harm reduction programmes or providing
assistance to people who use drugs across Asia. Hundreds of individuals
and organisations contribute to the network's development, and AHRN is
recognised by UNAIDS as a best practice model, and by the World Health
Organization (WHO) as a key partner in the response to HIV/AIDS in Asia.
Its work includes networking, information sharing, advocacy, programme
and policy development, and training and capacity building.
www.ahrn.net
Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN)
EHRN (formerly the Central and Eastern
European Harm Reduction Network) is a highly successful regional
network working in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Established in the late 1990s, its mission is to support, develop and
advocate for harm reduction approaches in the field of drugs, HIV/AIDS,
public health and social exclusion by following the principles of
humanism, tolerance, partnership and respect for human rights and
freedoms. EHRN works on policy change and advocacy – including regional
analysis and support for national efforts, capacity building and
technical assistance on harm reduction, sex work and prison health, and
networking and information exchange among service providers and
advocates.
www.harm-reduction.org
Canadian Harm Reduction Network (CHRN)
Established in 1999, CHRN goals are to allow
for information exchange and support, to educate the public,
politicians, legislators and the media about harm reduction, to ensure
that drug policies in Canada exemplify harm reduction, and to work
collaboratively to end the war on drugs and on the people who use them.
With approximately 600 members and a contact list of over 20,000, CHRN
serves as the virtual meeting place for individuals and organisations in
Canada dedicated to reducing the social, health and economic harms
associated with drugs and drug policies.
www.canadianharmreduction.com
Colectivo por Una Política Integral Hacia las Drogas (CUPIHD)
CUPIHD is a Mexican civil society organisation dedicated to education, investigation, dissemination and action in order to transform the drug policy in Mexico to one with a harm reduction and human rights perspective and an integral, scientific and multidisciplinary focus. Its principles are ‘Information, Responsibility, Freedom’ and its objectives include the provision of comprehensible, honest and scientific information on drugs, the promotion of a ‘culture of responsibility’ towards drug use, and building strategic alliances with national and international partners in the field.
Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC)
HRC is a national advocacy and
capacity-building organisation for the United States that promotes the
health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use.
It was established in 1993 in order to advance policies and programs
that help people address the adverse effects of drug use. It currently
runs a number of programmes – including the African-American Capacity
Building Initiative, the Hepatitis C Harm Reduction Project, the Harm
Reduction Training Institute, the Syringe Access Expansion Project, and
the Opiate Overdose Prevention Projects, as well as policy work,
national conferences, coalition building, resources and publications.
www.harmreduction.org