IHRA newsletter October 2007

IHRA

Gerry Stimson

	‘Get Tested’ - World Hepatitis Awareness Day World Hepatitis Awareness Day 2007 took place on October 1st and, in order to promote the event, a report has been launched by the Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network which shows that more than 90% of people with the hepatitis C virus do not know they are infected. The report was presented to the media by Professor Gerry Stimson (IHRA Executive Director). Find out more back to top
	Drugs Policy Experts Gather for IHRA Meeting in Lisbon In September 2007, IHRA and the International Drug Policy Consortium hosted a seminar in Lisbon to discuss civil society activities in the build-up to the 2008 review of the United Nations illegal drugs strategies and the progress that has been made against the ‘Political Declaration’ adopted in 1998 by all of the UN member states. The discussions at this seminar are to be turned into a report which is due for release in the coming months. Find out more back to top
	UN Human Rights Report Praises Harm Reduction Reporting from a recent visit to Sweden, Professor Paul Hunt (the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health) has stated that harm reduction is not only an essential public health intervention, but crucially, that it “enhances the right to health” of injecting drug users. Find out more back to top
	IHRA Host Sub-Saharan Africa Harm Reduction Meeting This month, IHRA are hosting a ground-breaking meeting in sub-Saharan Africa to bring together representatives from civil society, UN agencies and key donors with the aim of discussing emerging patterns of drug use and HIV in the continent and the possibility of establishing a new regional harm reduction network. Find out more back to top
	Argentinean Government Officials Support Harm Reduction Three senior government officials in Argentina made public statements in favour of harm reduction at the ‘5th National Conference on Drug Policy’ in August 2007. They spoke out for harm reduction as a policy approach, and outlined their commitment to prosecuting drug traffickers while improving health care of drug users. Find out more back to top
	October 2007 Article of the Month This month’s article is an editorial by Andrew Ball (World Health Organization) which introduces a recent ‘Special Issue’ of the International Journal of Drug Policy on the topic of ‘HIV treatment and care for injecting drug users’. The article - entitled ‘Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment for Injecting Drug Users: Keeping the Promise’ – details some of the barriers that must be overcome in order to achieve the UN’s goal of universal access to HIV treatment by 2010. Find out more back to top
	‘CLAT4’ in Milan, Italy The ‘4th Latin Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm’ (“CLAT4”) will be held from November 29th to December 1st 2007 in Milan, Italy. The conference is supported by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Province of Milan, and aims to openly discuss the impact of “Two Decades of Harm Reduction: From the HIV/AIDS emergency to an innovative model of public policy”. The main objective of the conference will be to agree and launch the ‘Milan Alliance’ guidelines - a collection of recommendations aimed at policy makers and planners that are active in the field of drug use. Find out more WWW.HaRdCOREhARMREdUCER.BE DrugWarLog ArtCoreFromTheHardCore

IHRA E-Newsletter September 2007

International Harm Reduction Association

Harm Reduction 2008 Barcelona

Welcome

This month, we have a number of articles from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, as well as updates from the International Journal of Drug Policy (IHRA’s official journal) and Harm Reduction 2008 (IHRA’s 19th International Conference).

As always, the IHRA website is updated throughout the month, so please visit us whenever you can and check the ‘Latest Updates’ box on the homepage for the latest news from IHRA and the global harm reduction field.

Best Regards,

All at IHRA

Latin America Tender Awarded to Intercambios Associatión Civil

In July 2007, IHRA released an invitation to tender for a partnership with harm reduction networks, associations and organisations in Latin America. We are pleased to announce that the tender has been awarded to Intercambios Associatión Civil - an Argentinean non-governmental organisation with extensive experience in harm reduction research and advocacy.

Find out more

Conference Registration and Abstract Submission System Open

IHRA and the Conference Consortium are pleased to announce that the Harm Reduction 2008 registration and abstract submission system is now open. When you first access the system, you will be asked to create a new user account by completing your personal details and choosing a user name and password. Once you have created your user account, you will be able to update your details and submit an abstract for the conference. An ‘Abstract Guide’ has also been produced to assist authors in this process.

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Special Journal Issue Free to Download

The International Journal of Drug Policy has just published a ‘Special Issue’ on HIV treatment and care for injecting drug users - guest edited by Andrew Ball from the World Health Organization, Michel Kazatchkine from the Global Fund, and Tim Rhodes from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This ‘Special Issue’ brings together a range of original research papers and commentaries from around the world, and is available for free download until October 31 2007.

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An Interview with the ‘Nigerian Friends for Harm Reduction’

The ‘Nigerian Friends for Harm Reduction’ (NFHR) have recently formed to advocate for harm reduction interventions and policies across the country. Here Dr Olanrewaju Onigbogi, a leading harm reduction pioneer in Nigeria, discusses how and why the group have formed and what they hope to achieve – starting with an appeal to the National AIDS Control Agency.

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'ARV 4 IDUs’: Free Quarterly Bulletin Launched

HIV i-Base are pleased to announce the launch of a free quarterly bulletin called ‘ARV4IDUs’. This not-for-profit community publication aims to provide a review of the most important medical advances relating to clinical management of HIV and its related conditions for injecting drug users, as well as access to treatments. The publication contains key articles relating to antiretroviral treatment for injecting drug – including a report from the IHRA conference in May 2007.

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September 2007 Article of the Month

This month’s highlighted article is a critical review of anti-doping strategies in sport by Kayser et al. The paper discusses the ethical assumptions which are the basis of the global prohibitionist approach to performance-enhancing drugs in sport. According to the authors, this approach is expensive and may cause more harm than it reduces for elite, amateur or aspiring athletes.

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Harm Reduction Vacancy in Afghanistan

Medicins du Monde - an international humanitarian organisation advocating for medical care for vulnerable populations - is currently seeking a ‘Harm Reduction Programme Coordinator’ for its programme in Kabul, Afghanistan. For more details on the vacancy, and to apply for this position, please contact Medicins du Monde.

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