ID: HR19-990

Presenting author: Abdalla Badhrus

Presenting author biography:

Mr. Badhrus is a Harm Reduction Program Manager at MEWA, a local NGO in Mombasa, Kenya. Has over 20 years’ experience working with PWUDs. Co-Founder of MEWA Drug treatment Centre and Harm Reduction programs. A Vice Chair of Kenya Harm Reduction Network (KHRN). Has a higher Diploma in Counselling studies.

Community Paralegal Interventions for access to justice, legal and health care rights for drug users charged with drug offences in Mombasa, Kenya.

Abdalla Badhrus, Fatma Jeneby, Hussein Tayab, Muna Handulle, Saade Abdalla

Issue: Kenya is a Country with a progressive democratic constitution that protects and promotes rights of the vulnerable population. Despite the conflicting of punitive laws and existing policies to practice Harm Reduction Interventions in the corrective institutions, law enforcers have allowed basic education on risk prevention, methadone administration, HTS Services and access to legal aid, but respond aggressively when the President issues directive to curb the supply of hard drugs in the region, affecting the harm reduction interventions.
Setting: Drug users in Mombasa face problems of violence, child abuse, crime gangs, domestic violence, homelessness, and discrimination. Locally, drug users witnessed shootings and lynching on the grounds in dens, neighborhoods and communities.
Project: With funding support from Mainline Foundation, UNODC and OSIEA, MEWA rolled out a strategic combination of a continuum of health and human rights program in Mombasa, where community paralegal unit was initiated, comprising of 10 Outreach workers trained on the knowledge of criminal justice system administration, arrest processes and police authority.
These efforts initiated platforms for dialogue between MEWA, Police and Judiciary to solve problems, build community leadership structures in dispute resolution; facilitate health referrals for drug use and alternative non-custodian sentencing.
Outcomes: Working closely with the Senior Principal Magistrate of Law Courts in provision of the non-custodian sentences, Paralegals are mandated to identify PWUDs in the law courts prior to sentencing.
Clients released for non-custodian services: for Psychosocial support 263 (M- 251, F-12), MAT/OST inducted in Prison 24 (M-24, F-0), accessing MAT/OST in prison 35 (M-34, F-1), Rehabilitation/Detox 19 (M-16 F-3), weekly sessions in prisons.
Supporting groups meetings to adherence for ART and sobriety initiated at the DICs, MAT clinic and Prison.
This model manages to sustain public health related services and facilitate a positive enabling environment for a supportive structural systems of community policing and dialogues.