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The 24th International Harm Reduction Conference. 18-21 October 2015. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Programme

  • Sunday October 18 2015
    • 3:30PM - 5:30PM
      • Opening Ceremony

        Location: Taming Sari

        Chairs: Rick Lines, Harm Reduction International and Datuk Raj Karim, President of the Malaysian AIDS Council

        Speakers:
        YB Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam, The Honourable Minister of Health Malaysia
        Anand Grover, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
        Maria Phelan, Harm Reduction International
        Mahd Razali Bin Ayub, WARDU/ANPUD

        Presentation of the Carol and Travis Jenkins Award
        Presentation of the International and National Rolleston Awards
  • Monday October 19 2015
    • 9:00AM - 10:30AM
      • Plenary 1: Leadership in Transition

        Location: PLENARY ROOM

        Chair: Daniel Wolfe

        This session will discuss the retreat of international donor support from harm reduction and the challenges of transitioning to sustainable national-level financing

        Marijke Wijnroks, Chief of Staff, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
        Lambert Grijns, Ambassador for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights & HIV/AIDS of the Netherlands
        Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
        Pascal Tanguay, Law Enforcement and HIV/AIDS Network
    • 10:30AM - 11:30AM
      • Dialogue Space: Launch: Special Issue of the Harm Reduction Journal
        Speaker(s):
        Alex Wodak (President, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation)

        Jimmy Dorabjee (Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs)

        Ian Caswell (BioMed Central)

        Description:
        Please join us for the launch of a special issue of the Harm Reduction Journal, entirely dedicated to the state of harm reduction in Asia.
    • 11:00AM - 12:30PM
      • Major 11: Challenges and solutions in the funding crisis for harm reduction

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Adrian Gschwend

        10% by 2020: a global campaign to redirect resources from the war on drugs to harm reduction
        Olga Szubert, Murphy, Fionnuala; Phelan, Maria

        Critical engagement with donors to secure investment in harm reduction in middle income countries (MICs)
        Alysa Remtulla

        Harnessing harm reduction: Community Action on Harm Reduction Programme (CAHR) review in Malaysia
        Malini Sivapragasam; Ellan, Parimelazhagan

        Lessons learned from 5+ years of harm reduction service delivery in Thailand
        Pascal Tanguay; Ngamee, Veeraphan
      • Major 12: Ending the death penalty for drug offences

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Rick Lines

        This session brings together leading lawyers and human rights advocates to discuss current efforts to end the death penalty for drug offences in four key death penalty States: China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia

        Tripti Tandon, Deputy Director, Lawyer’s Collective (India) Ricky Gunawan, Program Director, LBH Masyarakat (Indonesia) Dr Yingxi Bi, (China) Shamini Darshni, Executive Director, Amnesty International Malaysia
      • Major 13: Major 13: HCV: Prevention and risks

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Karyn Kaplan

        ‘Treatment as prevention’ for hepatitis C: addressing the needs of people who inject drugs?
        Magdalena Rose Harris; Albers, Eliot; Swan, Tracy

        Hepatitis C prevention and convenience: why do people who inject drugs in sexual partnerships ‘run out’ of sterile equipment?
        Suzanne Fraser; Rance, Jake; Treloar, Carla Impact of Opioid Substitution Therapy and Needle

        Syringe Programmes on incidence of HCV: a systematic review and meta- analysis
        Lucy Platt; Reed, Jennifer; Minozzi, Silvia; Vickerman, Peter; French, Clare; Hagan, Holly; Maher, Lisa; Jordan, Ashly; Hickman, Matthew

        Screening of viral hepatitis among tuberculosis patients
        Surendra Khadka; Bista, Bikram
    • 11:30AM - 12:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Reaching the Underserved: Harm Reduction Services for Young People who Use Drugs in Ukraine
        Speaker(s):
        Vyacheslav Kushakov (International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Ukraine)

        Description:
        In Ukraine, the HIV epidemic is increasingly affecting young people. There is evidence that a large proportion (65%) of all HIV infections among boys aged 15 to 19 are directly associated with injecting drug use. Yet HIV-related policies and existing harm reduction services consistently overlook the harm reduction needs of the youngest segments of drug using populations, those aged 10 to 18. Since there are significant differences between younger and older PWID, harm reduction services need to employ substantially different and targeted outreach strategies, service combinations and service delivery mechanisms in order to address the needs of young PWUD/ PWID.

        During this dialogue space, we will present the first conscious effort to target young people who use drugs with essential harm reduction services in Ukraine. We will share models of harm reduction service delivery for young PWUD and advocacy tools for the scale up of interventions at the country level.
    • 12:30PM - 1:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Dead Space, Blood Volume, and BBV Risk
        Speaker(s):
        Dr. William Zule (RTI International)

        Description:
        Bill Zule has been at the forefront of moves to understand the importance of blood volume in used injecting equipment as a potential driver of blood borne virus epidemics.

        In this dialogue space session Bill will describe how his understanding of this issue has developed, the evidence for the differences in risk between injecting equipment types, and the next steps for translating this knowledge into practice and optimising its impact on HIV and HCV prevention. There will be an opportunity to explore the language used to describe injecting equipment, the issues that arise when discussing dead space with injecting drug users, and practical issues that might affect local implementation.
    • 1:30PM - 2:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Women Who Use Drugs
        Speaker(s):
        Session 1 speakers:
        Monica Beg (UNODC)
        Ruth Birgin (INPUD)

        Session 2 speakers:
        Judy Chang (WHRIN)
        Judy Mungai (INPUD)
        Zoe Dodd (South Riverdale Community Health Centre)
        Ruth Birgin (INPUD)

        Description:
        1. Launch of the UNODC Practical guide for service providers on gender-responsive HIV services for women who inject drugs.

        Harm reduction programmes are often not sufficiently accessible to women who inject drugs and not able to respond to their specific needs.

        The purpose of this new guide is to:

        - assist harm reduction service providers to expand the access to services to women who inject drugs through appropriate gender-sensitive and gender- specific services

        - support harm reduction service providers to address gender issues within existing services and/or develop gender specific services

        - offer advice on setting targets for scale-up access to comprehensive HIV services and expand coverage

        A working group consisting of the International Network of Women Who Use Drugs (INWUD), the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN), and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) provided oversight with UNODC in the development of the guide.

        2. Women who Use Drugs as Activists and Advocates - the challenges and solutions (Interactive)

        This session will discuss the particular challenges and barriers that women who use drugs face in the harm reduction and drug policy reform movement. Women who use drugs face double stigmatization and more oppressive social and ‘moral’ norms, often presenting barriers for engaging in advocacy. How can women who use drugs overcome these challenges, and create and maintain an active voice in drug policy reform and harm reduction movements?

        Policies, programming and services remain weighted towards men, and are gender- blind. These critical gaps can be bridged, by ensuring the participation of women who use drugs. Currently the presence of women in drug policy, and harm reduction advocacy remains overshadowed by men. How can women who use drugs challenge the status quo in male-dominated spaces of harm reduction and drug policy reform? Further to this, are there opportunities to embrace the intersectionalities between gender and drug use, race and/or ethnicity, sexuality and trans movements?

        This interactive session will explore these issues. Four women who use drugs will discuss their personal experiences and provide a sound basis for discussion and debate on the synergies for future action.
    • 2:00PM - 3:30PM
      • Parallel 11: HCV: Treatment

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: TBC

        WHO global and regional action on hepatitis treatment: implications for people who use and inject drugs
        Nick Walsh; Lo, Ying-Ru; Verster, Annette

        From silence to elimination: making Hepatitis C a national priority in Georgia
        Paata Sabelashvili

        Meaningful involvement of people who inject drugs in hepatitis C advocacy in Indonesia
        Suhendro Sugiharto; Agustian, Edo;

        What people know about Hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals: Narratives from a cohort of people who inject drugs in Melbourne
        Peter Higgs; Cogger, Shelley; Hsieh, Kevin; Hellard, Margaret
      • Parallel 12: The Global Fund new funding model challenges: what this means for harm reduction

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Valentin Simionov

        Global Fund investments in harm reduction through the rounds- based funding model (2002–2014)
        Susie McLean, Bridge, Jamie; Hunter, Benjamin M.

        Seeking solutions for danger of The Global Fund withdrawal from the Balkan countries
        Samir Ibisevic; Bakh, Uliana

        Scaling up harm reduction in Asia: entry points for PWID and HR NGOs in development of GF concept notes
        Dave Burrows; McCallum, Louis

        Financial tools for HIV prevention and harm reduction advocacy in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Cathy Barker; Kriauzaite, Nora; Ocheret, Dasha; Votyagov, Sergey
      • Parallel 13: Punitive laws and law enforcement

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Greg Denham

        Impact of drug laws and policies on harm reduction in Cambodia
        Sou Sochenda; Sovannary, Tuot; Tola, Chan; Mony, Srey; Golichenko, Olga; Pheak, Chhoun; Satya, Chhim; Siyan, Yi; Sopheap, Oum

        Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD): programme effects on recidivism outcomes
        Susan E. Collins; Clifasefi, Seema L.; Lonczak, Heather S.

        ‘Policy Surveillance’ for tracking, evaluating and advancing harm reduction policy
        Scott C Burris

        Bridging harm reduction and law enforcement closer together to help build sustainable partnerships
        Anan Pun; Karmacharya, Ujjwal; Chapagain, Deepak; Gurung, Birodh
      • Parallel 14: NPS: Challenges for policy makers and service providers

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 1

        Chair: Eberhard Schatz

        Implementation of effective harm reduction responses - challenges for community and service providers
        Katrin Schiffer

        Is the recent emergence of Mephedrone injection in the United Kingdom associated with elevated risks and infection levels?
        Vivian D Hope; Cullen, Katelyn J; Parry, John V; Ncube, Fortune

        NPS in Europe - political response in the EU
        José Queiroz Barbosa; Costa, Ana Correia

        Double epidemic in the Russian Federation
        Marina Akulova; Kornilova, Marina
      • Parallel 15: Children, young people and injecting drug use

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 2

        Chair: Tetiana Deshko

        Place of harm reduction and rehabilitation programmes in work with underage drug users
        Anastasiya Shebardina

        The social context of non- medical prescription opioid use among young adults: a qualitative study
        Jesse L.Yedinak; Kinnard, Elizabeth N.; Hadland, Scott E.; Green, Traci C.; Clark, Melissa A.; Marshall, Brandon D.L.

        ‘We don’t need services. We have no problems’: exploring the experiences of young people who inject drugs in accessing harm reduction services
        Anita Krug; Hildebrand, Mikaela

        ‘Intravention’: young drug injectors’ leadership in promoting health-protective behaviours among their peers
        Pedro Mateu-Gelabert; Guarino, Honoria; Jessell, Lauren; Syckes, Cassandra; Friedman, Samuel R.
      • Parallel 16: Grass roots advocacy in harm reduction

        Location: Sri Bendahara 1

        Chair: John-Peter Kools

        ‘Let’s do it together’- engaging with local communities for better acceptance of Needle/Syringe Programmes
        Linn Tun; ThweKo, Nyein; Thaw,

        Kicking the door open with the first substance analysis programme in Mexico
        Brun Gonzalez

        The role of parental activism in advocacy of expanding access and improving the quality of OST programmes, Ukraine
        Svitlana Tkalya

        Advocating for an increase in harm reduction services and promotion of human rights, impacts and decrease violation for PWUD
        Amin Zemaray; Alami, Sohail

        Peer paralegal a breakthrough in a legal assistance
        Edo Agustian; Sugiharto, Suhendro; Nurdiana, Ferry
      • Workshop: How to Integrate Methamphetamine Harm Reduction Approaches into Routine Harm Reduction Services

        Location: Sri Bendahara 2 Workshop (Upper Level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Seyed Ramin Radfar (Thought, Culture and Health Institute)

        Description:
        This workshop will explore the various methamphetamine harm reduction experiences around the world, including the development, implementation and results of a pilot methamphetamine harm reduction programme in Iran. The objectives of the workshop are to:

        1. Understand the epidemiology of methamphetamine
        2. Identify the differences and similarities of methamphetamine harm reduction and opioid harm reduction activities
        3. Learn about one of the very few experiences in the world regarding methamphetamine harm reduction integration into regular harm reduction services

        Format: Short presentations, group work and plenary discussion. Participants will be asked to break into small groups to discuss and share their findings on the similarities and differences between methamphetamine and opioid- related harms and harm reduction services. Evaluation of the workshop will be undertaken through short pre- and post-tests.
      • Workshop: Adapting Harm Reduction Programmes for People Who Use Stimulants

        Location: Sri Pangalima 2 Workshop (Upper Level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Hang Lai (Supporting Community Development Initiatives)
        Sarah Evans (Open Society Foundations)
        Kailin See (Drug User Resource Centre)

        Description:
        Objective: Harm reduction to date has largely focused on opiate injection. However, the use of smoked stimulants (amphetamines, cocaine, and derivatives like crack and basuco) is increasing in many localities. Smoked stimulant use is associated with risky sex and other drug use, HIV, Hep C, and mental health issues. At the same time, the very fact that stimulant users are not (yet) injecting drugs means that timely harm reduction programming is critical and the opportunities many. In reality, however, few effective, evidence-based interventions exist for stimulant users (and data is sorely lacking).

        The default response in many parts of the world is a police crackdown on users, followed by compulsory ‘treatment’ or jail – even when no obvious crime has been committed or the user does not want or need treatment. Today, the biggest contributor to injury and death among stimulant users is violence connected to the drug market, and at the hands of police. Community-based programmes struggle to connect with stimulant users, whose needs and behaviors seem different from those of people who use opiates. Harm reduction tools for stimulants users (sterile crack smoking kits, supervised inhalation sites) are often an afterthought to methadone and needle and syringe programmes, and remain controversial long after programmes for people who use opiates have been accepted.

        Format: Using short presentations, group activities, and plenary discussion, three dynamic facilitators from around the world will share strategies and approaches for including stimulant users in harm reduction programming.
    • 2:30PM - 3:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Harm Reduction Beyond Injecting Drug Use
        Speaker(s):
        Adrian Gschwend (Swiss Federal Office of Public Health)

        René Akeret (Member of Swiss Federal Expert Commission on drugs)

        Description:
        Historically, harm reduction has been heroin-focused and driven by concern over the risks of injecting. However, drug use, including type of drugs used, patterns of use, and profiles of risk behavior, are typically evolving rather rapidly. According to EMCDDA data, in many Western European countries, heroin use has steadily declined since 2007. Concomitantly, heroin injecting appears to have decreased and use by other routes, notably inhalation and to a lesser extend sniffing, has become more and more popular. Further, new phenomena challenge the traditionally opiate-focused drug policies:

        - Excessive recreational substance abuse, especially in nightlife
        - Poly drug use, especially in combination with alcohol
        - New psychoactive substances (NPS), designer drugs, “legal highs”
        - Psychoactive pharmaceuticals, neuroenhancers, “brain doping”

        During this dialogue space we will explore the potential of harm reduction for addressing such new patterns of drug use. The focus is thus shifted away from survival-oriented interventions to safer use and reduction of health / social risks for recreational substance users. We will discuss these issues by introducing practices of harm reduction in the context of nightlife interventions in Switzerland. Participants of this dialogue space will discuss the extension of the harm reduction concept to the emerging trends in drug use drawing from experiences in their own countries.
    • 3:30PM - 4:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Living the Decriminalisation: The Portuguese Experience
        Speaker(s):
        Rui Miguel Coimbra Morais (CASO, INPUD, EuroNPUD)

        Description:
        This dialogue will space will explore decriminalisation from the perspective of people who use drugs, illuminating both the benefits and the much less discussed problems. It will discuss outcomes in relation to stigmatisation and discrimination; the ambiguous effect of being medicalised; access to rights; and the opportunities for our community to be meaningfully involved in all aspects of our lives.
    • 4:00PM - 5:30PM
      • Parallel 21: MSM, chemsex and community norms

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Maria Phelan

        Crystal methamphetamine use among gay and bisexual men in Australia: patterns of use and harm reduction responses
        Toby Lea; Hopwood, Max; Ryan, Dermot; Wright, Shannon; Holt, Martin; Aggleton, Peter

        Men Who Have Sex with Men in a highly stigmatizing environment: the case of greater Cairo, Egypt
        Sherif Mohamed Said Elkamhawi; Abaza, Oumnia; Khoury, Carla; Tawakol, Ghazal; Abdel Malak, Maryham; El-Beih, Wessam; Youssef, Hala; El-Kott, Nabeel; Sanan, Nehad; El-Kha

        Perceptions and experiences of injecting novel psychoactive substances in sexual settings among gay men in London
        Adam Bourne; Reid, David; Weatherburn, Peter; Torres-Rueda, Sergio

        Using peer education to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) drug users in NSW
        Shannon Wright; Ryan, Dermot; Parkhill, Nicolas
      • Parallel 22: Research: Neglected harms and issues

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Vlatko Dekov

        Harm reduction saves and improves lives: Findings of Increased quality-of-life for people who inject drugs in the Hridaya impact assessment study in selected Indian states
        Visvanathan Arumugam; Biswas, Kaushik; Sharma, G Charanjit; Beddoe, Simon W; Mehta, Sonal; Peters, Tim; Robertson, James

        Do different types of heroin produce different risks for developing abscesses and other skin and soft tissue infections?
        Dan Ciccarone; Unick, Jay; Mars, Sarah; Rosenblum, Dan

        Conceptualizing the hospital ‘risk environment’ for people who use drugs: challenges and potential solutions
        Lianping Ti; Milloy, M-J; Buxton, Jane; McNeil, Ryan; Dobrer, Sabina; Hayashi, Kanna; Wood, Evan; Kerr, Thomas

        Longitudinal analysis of individual harm reduction coverage in an Australian cohort of people who inject drugs
        Daniel John O’Keefe; Aitken, Campbell; Dietze, Paul Mark
      • Parallel 23: Critical issues in improving access to viral hepatitis B and C treatment for people who use drugs

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Susie McLean; Annette Verster

        This session will focus on improving access to viral hepatitis B and C treatment in people who use drugs.

        It will introduce the new WHO guidelines on HBV and HCV screening, care and treatment with specific focus on people who use drugs as well as the WHO global strategy and regional action plans on viral hepatitis and particular relevance for people who use drugs. Several key experts from a range of constituencies will respond and comment on the recommendations, their perspectives and experiences. The focus of this discussion is on critical issues and ways to address challenges with regard to providing hepatitis treatment to people who use drugs.

        Introduction on WHO guidance and strategies - Nick Walsh

        Civil society perspective:
        Treatment Action Group - Karyn Kaplan
        ANPUD - Anand Chabungbam
        International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine-
        Tetiana Deshko
        MSF - Leena Menghaney

        Donors perspective:
        The Global Fund - Mauro Guarinieri Open
        Society Foundations – Daniel Wolfe

        This session is supported by the World Health Organization
      • Parallel 24: Religious perspectives on harm reduction

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 1

        Chair: Steve Krauss

        Religious leaders and harm reduction in MENA
        Elie Georges Aaraj; Jreij/Abou Chrouch, Micheline Samir; Haddad, Rana Nour; Haddad, Patricia Joseph; Fakih, Hasan Sami

        Synthesis of Islam and harm reduction preconference
        Sawai Ustaz Zakuan

        Roles of religious affiliation and religiosity in reducing risks for HIV
        Stacey Shaw
      • Parallel 25: Next generation needle and syringe programming

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 2

        Chair: Ruth Birgin

        The challenges of outreach workers in the implementation of the Needle and Syringe Exchange programme in Malaysia
        Azlinda Azman;Karunanithy, Anushiya; Baba, Ismail; Ellan, Parimelazhagan; Sivapragasam, Malini

        Increasing syringe exchange 1,5 times in 4 years within the same budget? Evidence from Eastern Europe, Latvia
        Ruta Kaupe

        No one wants to use the dirties: people who inject drugs reflect upon re-use practices
        Angella Duvnjak; Morrison, Ele

        Experience from an interactive educational pilot programme aiming at behavioural changes among injecting drug users in Paris from 2011 to 2014: impact on risk practices and lessons learned
        Elisabeth Avril; Debrus, Marie; Rogissart, Valère; Maguet, Olivier; Corty, Jean- François
      • Parallel 26: Far from the stereotype: Drugs, sex work, and stigma

        Location: Sri Bendahara 1

        Chair: Annie Madden

        Structural violence and vulnerability of women who inject drugs in Kenya
        James Ngerere Ndimbii; Andrew Guise, Syliva Ayon, Onemsus Kalama, Tim Rhodes

        Harm reduction & leadership: who wins and who loses when sex work and drug use are seen as inherently dangerous and damaging?
        Ryan Elizabeth Cole

        Sex work and law reform in Canada: what are the impacts on sex workers life?
        Alexandra de Kiewit; Caouette, Anna-Aude;

        Minds opened wide: nursing students community experience in Vancouver’s downtown Eastside
        Caroline Brunt; Fukuyama, Kathy; Arnold, Barb; Gilbert, Julie; Schappert, Janita
      • Workshop: Difficult Decision: A Toolkit for Care Workers Managing Ethical Dilemmas

        Location: Sri Bendahara 2 Workshop (Upper Level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Jude Byrne (Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League)
        Jay Levy (INPUD)

        Description:
        This workshop--geared to anyone in a care or support role (including peer workers) and to managers--will orient participants to a new international tool for carers working with people who use drugs and other key populations. Carers face difficult decisions. The tool will help carers in community-based organisations make more ethical decisions when faced with competing choices or when the rights or interests of two people (perhaps parent and child) are in conflict.

        With proper guidance, carers can make more ethical decisions, ones not influenced by stigma about who has the ability or right to parent. Facilitators will share results from a global survey of care workers and their clients. Building on real-life ethical dilemmas, facilitators will then guide participants in the use of the guidance, including the four step tool that is at its heart, to develop understanding of how ethical decision-making differs from following the law, organisational policy, religion, culture or societal norms.
      • Workshop: New Psychoactive Substances Among People who Use Drugs Heavily – Towards Effective and Comprehensive Health Responses

        Location: Sri Pangalima 2 Workshop (Upper Level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Katrin Schiffer (Correlation Network)

        Description:
        New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are no longer limited to people experimenting with drugs. NPS use is increasing in populations of People who Use Drugs Heavily (PUDH). Social, health and harm reduction services across Europe are unprepared for the emerging use of NPS and lack the capacity and the tools to address this issue in an effective way. Capacity building and training is needed to increase the knowledge-base among professionals, peers and PUDH is needed to develop effective harm reduction strategies in this field.

        The workshop will provide an overview on the situation on NPS in general and describe the policy responses to the increasing use of NPS in Europe. The main part of the workshop will address challenges and potential approaches, which have been implemented in various European countries. The input is based on the interventions in 5 European countries. The implemented RAR methodology and the experiences will be shared and discussed with the participants.

        In the last part of the session, we will address the increasing role of the internet and describe and discuss potential online interventions.
    • 4:30PM - 5:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Employing People Who Use Drugs in Harm Reduction Programmes
        Speaker(s):
        Mat Southwell (CoAct),
        Charan Sharma (Alliance India),
        Marina Braga (Alliance Ukraine)

        Description:
        The Guide to Employing People who Use Drugs in Harm Reduction was produced for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance Community Action on Harm Reduction. It draws on the experience of CAHR partners and also other harm reduction organisations that have pioneered the employment of PWUD. The Guide gathers together experience and learning into a comprehensive resource for harm reduction services. It is designed to support managers and staff alike, to make their organisations welcoming and supportive workspaces for PWUD. The Guide recognises the important and valuable contribution that PWUD can make to harm reduction services. It also identifies human resources and personal development strategies that can help staff who use drugs to perform to their highest potential. The Guide recognises the additional challenges that PWUD may face in working in a context of discrimination and criminalisation and it identifies practical ways that organisations can support their staff and manage problems.

        Mat Southwell, the Guide’s author, will introduce and launch the Guide. Charan Sharma will describe his experience working for the Alliance India as a manager who uses drugs and draw out lessons. Three case studies of staff who use drugs will be discussed in small groups, helping people to practice using the Guide as a technical resource. The session will conclude with questions, discussion and answers. The session is presented by CoAct and the Alliance CAHR programme.
  • Tuesday October 20 2015
    • 9:00AM - 10:30AM
      • Plenary 2: Leadership Communities

        Location: Taming Sari

        This session will highlight examples of community driven campaigns in support of harm reduction and human rights

        Chairs: Michel Kazatchkine and Eliot Ross Albers

        Speakers:
        Rajiv Kafle, Global Network of People Living with HIV
        Nukshinaro Ao, Asian Network of People who Use Drugs
        Jules Kim, The Scarlet Alliance
        Liz Evans, former director of INSITE in Vancouver
    • 10:30AM - 11:30AM
      • Dialogue Space: The Harm Reduction Supplies Knowledge Hub wants your feedback!
        Speaker(s):
        Pierre de Vasson (Independent consultant in supply chain for harm reduction supplies)

        Description:
        The Harm Reduction Supplies Knowledge Hub, a non profit, independent hub run by harm reductionists, proposes a website to break the lack of access to information related to evidence-based articles, selecting, quantifying, sourcing and the procurement of harm reduction products. It aims to offer necessary information to improve procurement and list international publications to guide all steps of the products’ supply chain, from the science behind it to waste management. We would like your feedback to improve this innovative idea.
    • 11:00AM - 12:30PM
      • Major 21: Users Choice Session

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Pye Jakobsson

        Implementing comprehensive HIV programmes with people who inject drugs: practical approaches from collaborative interventions
        Eliot Ross Albers; Hariga, Fabienne

        Key population silenced; double stigma, double criminalisation in East Africa
        Evans Odhiambo Opany; Ochieng, Ezekiel Achims

        Harm reduction interventions inside ‘smoking ghettos’ (‘fumoirs’): a community- based approach in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
        Jérôme Evanno; Bailly, Cynthia; Dézé, Charlotte; Luhmann, Niklas; Bouscaillou, Julie; Maguet, Olivier

        The advocacy capacity of Latin-American civil society in drug policy debate
        Pablo Cymerman; D’Agostino, María Eugenia; Touze, Graciela
      • Major 22: The continued UN commitment to the implementation of the comprehensive harm reduction package at the UNGASS 2016

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Michel Kazatchkine

        The Global Commission on Drug Policy has constantly called for the removal of the legal or de-facto barriers to harm reduction services, and the implementation of the package of comprehensive interventions developed and recommended by the WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS.

        Moreover, this package has been strengthened by WHO’s consolidated guidelines for key populations, in particular underlining the need to address structural barriers in order to implement effective and accessible programmes. Now that the UNGASS is approaching, it is time to re-evaluate the commitment of a horizontal UN approach to the world drug problem and harm reduction.

        This session will aim at discussing the role of the international community and the UN agencies in scaling- up harm reduction services and taking advantage of the UNGASS to discuss the social, economic, medical and development benefits of harm reduction and of a whole UN comprehensive approach to drugs.

        Speakers:
        Michel Kazatchkine, Global Commission on Drug Policy
        Edmund Settle, United Nations Development Program
        Monica Beg, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
        Annette Verster, World Health Organization
        TBC, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

        Organizers: Global Commission on Drug Policy, United Nations Development Programme, World Health Organization, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
      • Major 23: Alternatives to drug detention in Asia

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Ricky Gunawan

        Community-based models as alternatives to compulsory detention in Asia
        Claudia Stoicescu; Phelan, Maria

        Barriers to implementing and scaling up community- based harm reduction models in Malaysia: a case study in cure and care service centre Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur
        Vicknasingam Balasingam

        Community Treatment - an alternative approach to compulsory detoxification
        Tao Cai

        Toward community-based voluntary treatment for people with drug use disorders in Vietnam
        Oanh Thi Hai Khuat; Do, Xuan Thi Ninh; Michel, Laurent; Hamilton, John

        Harm Reduction integration with substance dependency rehabilitation at PEKA halfway house - community based service in Bogor- Indonesia
        Doddy Parlinggoman
    • 11:30AM - 12:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: UNODC’s Practical Guide for Working with Law Enforcement
        Speaker(s):
        Pascal Tanguay (Law Enforcement and HIV/AIDS Network)

        Description:
        Law enforcement practices can disrupt harm reduction programmes and contribute to the risk environment in which PWUD live. It is possible for harm reduction services to establish relations with law enforcement on local and national levels that reduce harm from criminalisation and help law enforcement contribute to an enabling environment for health and rights promotion. In 2015, UNODC released a guide for CSOs on improving working relationships with police. The session will present some of the key ideas presented in the guide and open up for discussion around the audience’s experience of cooperation between harm reduction services and law enforcement, including what measures civil society can implement to reduce negative encounters with law enforcement.
    • 12:30PM - 1:30PM
    • 1:30PM - 2:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Access to Harm Reduction Services for Young People Who Inject Drugs (YPWID) in Asia and the Pacific
        Speaker(s):
        Anita Krug (Youth RISE)
        Jeffry Acaba (Youth LEAD)
        Sandeep Shahi (YKAP Nepal)
        Alya Jannata (PKNI) Government representative/service provider (TBC)

        Description:
        This interactive session will explore some of the major issues affecting young people who inject drugs in the Asia Pacific and discuss examples of good practice in youth engagement and the development and implementation of youth-friendly services. This session is targeted at harm reductionists, researchers, UN representatives and harm reduction advocates.
    • 2:00PM - 3:30PM
      • Parallel 31: Women who use drugs

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Ganna Dovbakh

        Developing networks for people/ women who use drugs in East Africa: Tanzania and Kenya
        Susan Masanja

        Putting it into practice: providing integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH), HIV and harm reduction services for women who use drugs in Mombasa, Kenya
        Lilian Kayaro Esemere; Maloti, Danson Mwawana; McCartney, Daniel Jason

        Research on access for women who inject drugs to HIV prevention, treatment and care services in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
        Aisuluu Bolotbaeva

        Towards establishing successful (peer-led) gender-sensitive services for women who use drugs
        Parina Subba Limbu; Bradbury, Gill;
      • Parallel 32: Game changers: new players in supervised injection

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Fifa Rahman

        Changes, changes and more changes: operating an evolving and responsive supervised injecting facility 2001-2015
        Allison Maree Salmon; Jauncey, Marianne Elizabeth

        Community based harm reduction and care. The impact of the five drug consumption rooms on Danish drug users’ health and wellbeing. A national study
        Nanna Kappel; Toth, Eva; Tegner, Jette

        Drug consumption rooms save lives: results of peer led field research
        Dirk Schäffer; Gurinova, Alexandra

        Supervised Drug Consumption in Vancouver: evolving practices and next steps
        Thomas Kerr

        Safer injection facilities: a new service provision for Malaysia
        Ismail Baba; Azman, Azlinda
      • Parallel 33: Community mobilisation

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Judith Byrne

        Community mobilisation and organising
        Mick Webb; Masanja, Susan

        Harm reduction advocacy initiative in Japan: drug users and the stakeholders raised their voices for human rights and public health
        Goro Koto

        Advocacy platforms for PWID: establishing state drug user forums under the Asia Action on Harm Reduction programme in India
        Simon Wallington-Beddoe; Imlong, Tushimenla; Arumugum, Viswanathan; Sharma, Charanjit; Mehta, Sonal; Robertson, James

        NY harm reduction educators UPRISE peer programme. A path to empowerment, employment, and social justice
        Mike Selick; Jones, Terrell

        ‘The Connection’ an aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander drug user service
        Aimee Maree Capper
      • Parallel 34: Protecting health and human rights in prisons: research, action and tools

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 1

        Chair: Cinzia Brentari

        HIV in prison: a global systematic review of incidence and mortality
        Kate Dolan; Moazen, Babak; Noori, Atefeh; Rahimzadeh, Shadi; Farzadfar, Farshad; Hariga, Fabienne

        Opioid substitution therapy reduces deaths in prison
        Sarah Larney; Gisev, Natasa; Farrell, Michael; Dobbins, Timothy; Burns, Lucinda; Gibson, Amy; Kimber, Jo; Degenhardt, Louisa

        Bridge the Gaps: between HIV/AIDS prevention and psychosocial support service for PWUD inmates in Malaysia
        Ramthan Mazlimi; Sivapragasam, Malini; Ellan, Parimelazhagan; Azman, Azlinda

        Human rights-based monitoring of infectious diseases and harm reduction in prisons
        Genevieve Sander; Brentari, Cinzia

        Human rights approach and principle of equivalence of health in prisons
        Ehab Salah
      • Parallel 35: Outreach-based Interventions to increase uptake and adherence

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 2

        Chair: Olga Golichenko

        Improvement of HIV services for PWID along HIV testing and treatment cascade
        Pavlo Smyrnov; Deshko, Tetyana; Denisiuk, Olga; Tyshkevych, Anna

        Understanding low threshold HIV testing for people who inject drugs in Kenya
        Onesmus Mlewa Kalama

        Community based outreach for people who inject drugs in Kenya
        Andy Guise; Ndimbii, James; Ayon, Sylvia; Rhodes, Tim

        Low threshold HIV testing techniques that prove successful in increasing PWID screening for HIV
        Tetiana Deshko; Isakov, Victor
      • Oral poster session: Harm reduction & injecting

        Location: Sri Bendahara 1

        Chair: Alex Wodak

        Overdose prevention services upon release from prison
        Gill Bradbury

        Parallels between HIV and HCV epidemics among young injectors in two countries: New York City, USA and Medellin, Colombia
        Pedro Mateu-Gelabert; Dedsy Berbesi, Honoria Guarino, Stephanie Campos, Shana Harris, Lauren Jessell, Samuel R. Friedman

        Broadening the map of psychoactive substances: the universe of drugs v.2.0
        Brun Gonzalez

        Médecins du Monde (MdM) challenges sofosbuvir’s patent in Europe to improve universal access to HCV treatment
        Celine Grillon; Tahir Amin, Jean-François Corty, Chloé Forette, Gaelle Krikorian, Marie-Dominique Pauti, Priti Radhakrishnan, Lionel Vial, Olivier Maguet

        When bulk isn’t best - the benefits of single use packs for the injection of street drugs
        Carole Hunter; John Campbell

        Exploring the decision to not inject: Policy implications for harm reduction strategies aimed at non-injection drug users
        Andrew Kristofer Ivsins; Cecilia Benoit, Susan Boyd, Karen Kobayashi

        Characteristics of male injecting drug users in Greater Cairo, Egypt
        Oumnia Abaza; Sherif Elkamhawi, Mariham Abdel Malak, Carla Khoury, Ghazel Tawakol, Wessam Elbeih, Hala Youssef, Hisham Ramy, Nehad Sanan, Ehab Elkharrat, Nabil Elkott, Cherif Soliman

        Levels of mortality among people who inject drugs from causes other than AIDS
        Mathers Bradley; Louisa Degenhardt
      • Workshop: Stop the Harm: Campaigning for Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Reform in Advance of the 2016 United Nations Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS)

        Location: Sri Pangalima 2 Workshop (Upper Level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Benjamin Phillips (Harm Reduction Coalition)
        Alissa Sadler (Open Society Foundations)
        Zara Snapp (Global Commission on Drug Policy)
        Robin Beck (Stop the Harm)
        Edward Fox (Release)

        Description:
        With the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs fast approaching, and reform happening apace across Latin America and the U.S., global drug policy has entered into a dynamic and critical era. UNGASS presents an unprecedented opportunity to engage and mobilise a global audience to advance harm reduction and drug policy reform. Yet, selling harm reduction and drug policy reform has never been an easy task. This workshop aims to make it easier by providing participants with the resources and knowledge to join and tailor the global ‘Stop the Harm’ campaign to locally relevant audiences and issues. Moreover, it seeks to lay foundational work for coalition and campaign building, and communications skills development that can be utilised to build momentum beyond UNGASS.

        The objective of this workshop is to introduce participants to the core principles and online platform of the Stop the Harm campaign before providing them with the tools, knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage, disseminate, and tailor Stop the Harm to promote their work for local audiences. Realistic and strategic UNGASS ‘asks’ and thematic areas will be reviewed, and key moments for mobilisation will be identified.

        The workshop format: Using short presentations, practical examples, and group discussion, five dynamic facilitators will work closely with participants to examine the core themes of the Stop the Harm campaign, and their direct application to the particular local issues relevant to participants. The facilitators—experienced campaigners and communications experts—will share strategies and approaches to tackling participants’ specific campaign goals and objectives in the lead up to UNGASS and beyond.
      • Workshop: Providing services to people who use drugs - moving away from compulsory drug treatment

        Location: Sri Bendahara 2 Workshop (upper level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Facilitators:
        John Hamilton, (CEO, Recovery Network of Programs)
        Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, (ED, Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives, Vietnam)

        Presenters:
        Thomas Cai (AIDS Care, China)
        Pascal Tanguay (Law Enforcement and HIV/AIDS Network)
        Olivier Maguet (Médecins du Monde)
        Machteld Busz, (Mainline)
        John Hamilton, (Recovery Network of Programs)
        Peter Higgs, (National Drug Research Institute)

        Description:
        The objectives of this workshop are to (1) generate ideas for voluntary and effective services for drug users, and (2) create an opportunity for making connections between people with experiences of providing voluntary services to drug users with people who are working to develop such a system.

        This workshop is targeted at a mixture of people with experiences in countries with good programmes for people who use drugs and people who are working in countries that still have compulsory drug treatment centers, including government officials, policy makers, NGOs and community representatives.
    • 2:30PM - 3:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Launch: Step by Step: Preparing for Work with Children who Inject Drugs
        Speaker(s):
        Anita Krug (Youth RISE)
        Bikash Gurung (Youth RISE)
        Maria Phelan (HRI)
        Damon Barrett (International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy)
        Sylvia Ayon (KANCO)

        Description:
        An international working group has developed a tool which offers guidance to help organisations prepare for work with children. Step by Step: Preparing for Work with Children who Inject Drugs takes organisations through exercises that help staff think about the critical issues of child rights and protection, evolving capacities of young people and how to balance conflicting ethical and legal issues. The tool helps staff recognise the overlapping vulnerabilities of young drug users and builds knowledge in organisations on how to respond. The tool has been developed and piloted with harm reduction service providers.
    • 3:30PM - 4:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for People who Inject Drugs: Community Voices on Pros, Cons, and Concerns
        Speaker(s):
        Shona Schonning (INPUD)

        Description:
        This session will discuss the outcomes from a recent consultation conducted by INPUD with the community of people who inject drugs in several regional, and one global consultation, in relation to their thoughts on PrEP. It is a thought provoking paper giving much needed insight into the priorities and pressing issues for people who inject. It offers a much needed corrective to the uncritical hype that is being widely given to this biomedical “magic bullet”.
    • 4:00PM - 5:30PM
      • Parallel 41: Research: Qualitative peer based studies

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Magdalena Harris

        More than anecdotal: community strengthening through community owned and managed research
        Carina Edlund; Jakobsson, Pye; Rosengren, Viveqa

        Half a decade and a lifetime away
        Judith Therese Byrne

        Overdose prevention among hard-to-reach users of non- opioid substances
        Renate Van Bodegom; van Gaalen, Sanne; Grund, Jean-Paul; de Bruin, Dick; Busz, Machteld

        The inconsistent application of harm reduction: towards an explanation and a new unifying approach
        Heather I. Peters; Wrath, Kathy
      • Parallel 42: Models of harm reduction in different settings

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Olga Szubert

        Models of service delivery of the comprehensive package for people who use and inject drugs
        Annette Verster; Rodolph, Michelle; Rachel, Baggaley

        Decentralisation and integration facilitates earlier access to HIV services
        Nguyen Thi Minh Tam; Duc Duong, Bui; Thi Thuy Van, Nguyen; Kato, Masaya

        Harm reduction against the odds! The Afghanistan experience
        Dr Feda Mohammad Paikan; Rajaey, Abdur Raheem; Rahimi, Dr.Mohammad Hashim; Southwell,Mat

        ‘Ya pas Drap’: starting harm reduction services in Abidjan - Ivory Coast after the results of a rapid assessment and response
        Jérôme Evanno; Bailly, Cynthia; Dézé, Charlotte; Luhmann, Niklas; Bouscaillou, JUlie; Maguet, Olivier

        This session is supported by the World Health Organization
      • Parallel 43: Overdose response

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: John Ryan

        Making friends with Fentanyl: a practical response to a dangerous drug
        Julie Louise Latimer

        Accelerating implementation of community naloxone distribution - barriers and solutions
        Ruth Birgin

        Naloxone in Scotland - a national approach to preventing opioid overdose deaths
        Kirsten Horsburgh

        Forward thinking harm reduction: how an app can save lives
        Iain Buff Cameron; Rintoul, Chris; Danny Morris

        Overdose management - a community driven approach to save lives among the PWID in the state of Manipur, India
        Bangkim Singh Chingsubam
      • Parallel 44: Drug use practice and risk: harm reduction

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 1

        Chair: Genevieve Sander

        Transitions to injecting heroin in Kenya: research findings, community perspectives and implications for programming
        Maryna Braga; Guise, Andy; Ndimbii, James; Dimova, Margarita; Mar Han, Zin; Ochera, John; O. Cawstone, Anthony; Nyakundi, James; Kimami, John; Mureithi, John; Apuuli

        Injection of morphine sulphate capsules among drug users in Paris, France, and specific related risks: what do we need to adapt in our harm reduction interventions?
        Marie Debrus; Avril, Elisabeth; Rogissart, Valère; Maguet, Olivier; Corty, Jean-François

        Insights into injecting into the neck and risk from a national sample of people who inject drugs in the United Kingdom
        Lisa Maher; Cullen, Katelyn J; Hope, Vivian D; Ncube, Fortune; Parry, John V

        West African pattern for drug, set and setting. Consequences on local harm reduction interventions and regional networking
        Olivier Maguet; Dembele, Bintou; Ba, Idrissa; Evann, Jérôme; Olivet, Fabrice; Mahjoubi, Bilel
      • Parallel 45: Opioid substitution therapy

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 2

        Chair: Katie Alexandra Stone

        Drugs, Dignity and Dying: developing palliative care guidelines for methadone maintenance patients in Ireland
        Juliet Homan Bressan; Flanagan, Jean; Madani, Anjum

        ‘Doctors punish us using detox’. To explore the range of problems that clients opioid substitution treatment (OST) have experienced with doctors- narcologists in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
        Olga Byelyayeva

        Barriers to Optimal Implementation of Methadone Maintenance Therapy in Bangkok, Thailand: a qualitative study
        Kanna Hayashi; Ti, Lianping; Small, Will; Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, Prempreeda; Kaplan, Karyn; Suwannawong, Paisan; Kerr, Thomas

        Assessment of methadone substitution treatment social and economic effectiveness in the Republic of Belarus
        Alexei Alexandrov
      • Oral poster session: Law and Services

        Location: Sri Bendahara 1

        Chair: Chad Hughes

        Efforts in support for transition from CCDU to voluntary community-based treatment and services in Asia
        Olivier Lermet; Vladanka Andreeva,

        Everything on my own: gaps in services for women who use drugs in Malaysia
        Fifa Rahman; Sarah Iqbal, Priya Lall, B Vicknasingam

        Accreditation of opioid substitution therapy centres in India: ensuring quality services
        Sophia Khumukcham; Neeraj Dhingra, Kim Hauzel, Chin Samte, Abraham Lincoln

        Evaluating the prescriber dosing trends of opioid substitution treatment program in private medical practitioner clinics after the implementation of psychotropic permit in Malaysia
        Dzafarullah Daud; Mohd Bokhari Md Noor, Bahirah Borhan, Mohd Nazri Md Dazli

        Country recommendations for creating enabling legal environments for access to HIV services for people who use drugs in Asia
        Brianna Harrison; Edmund Settle

        Sentencing Harm Reduction in Kachin State, Myanmar. Need for action
        Olivier Maguet; Renaud Cachia, Thomas Dusouchet

        UNDP is scaling up medication assisted therapy (MAT) with methadone in prisons of Kyrgyzstan
        Daniiar Saliev

        Peer driven intervention reaches hard to reach populations of people who inject drugs (PWID) in China
        Zhihua, Yan Cai; Thomas; Luo, Tina; Braga, Maryna; Smyrnov, Pavlo; Kushakov, Slava
      • Workshop: Addressing Gender-Based Violence among Women who Use Drugs in a Harm Reduction Setting: the WINGS Intervention

        Location: Sri Pangalima 2 Workshop (upper level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Louisa Gilbert (Global Health Research Center of Central Asia)
        Olga Rychkova (Open Society Foundations)
        Irena Ermolaeva (Asteria)

        Description:
        Workshop Objective: This workshop will provide an overview of the WINGS intervention, a gender-based violence (GBV) screening, brief intervention and referral model developed specifically to address the critical and intersecting needs of women who use drugs and experience GBV. GBV is a human rights violation and a serious public health concern among women who use drugs. Exposure to violence significantly increases risk of HIV infection, but often remains unaddressed due to lack of resources, capacity and awareness among HIV, harm reduction, and anti-violence programmes. WINGS was developed to address this service gap and was piloted in New York and Kyrgyzstan. The model focuses on identifying links between drug use and violence and includes GBV screening, risk assessment, safety planning, goal setting and social support to address GBV, referrals to GBV-related services and gender-specific HIV counseling and testing. In Kyrgyzstan, the WINGS pilot identified extremely high rates of GBV among women who use drugs: 80.8% reported experiencing either physical or sexual intimate partner violence in the prior year. The WINGS pilot demonstrated promising results in reducing GBV incidents, as well as decreasing drug use and increasing access to GBV and HIV services.

        Workshop format: The workshop will provide an overview of the WINGS intervention, highlight structural, community and organisational factors that may facilitate or impede its implementation, and provide an opportunity to discuss challenges and lessons learned. Participants will be asked to break down into small groups to identify strategies to adapt and implement WINGS to their programme settings.
      • Workshop: Engaging at-risk populations meaningfully in social science research

        Location: Sri Bendahara 2 Workshop (upper level)

        Facilitator(s):
        Adam Bourne (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine),
        Andy Guise (University of California, San Diego),
        Eliot Albers (INPUD)
        Claudia Stoicescu (Harm Reduction International),
        Edo Agustian and Rima Ameilia (Indonesian Drug Users Network)

        Description:
        If evidence is to be collected and utilised in a meaningful and ethical way, it is essential that key populations are the centre of research activities. Community based research (CBR) is an approach to engaging at-risk populations in the design, collection and dissemination of data so that the resulting findings can best meet their needs. The session will begin by considering the various meanings and approaches to community based research. There are many different models of conducting research that is led by the community, or ensures their meaningful involvement, which can be effective in different settings or in addressing different research questions. A panel of speakers from community organisations, NGOs and universities will share their experience of leading or participating in research studies across a range of high, middle and low income settings. The experiences they describe will span a range research methods and will consider both the successes and challenges of adopting a community based approach. Within the workshop, delegates will be asked to consider what might constitute key principles of meaningful involvement in research for people who inject drugs. What are the essential characteristics that make a research project ‘community based’ and what are the values that both academic and community researchers should ascribe to that help ensure we deliver high quality, ethical research? We hope to establish a network of individuals interested in developing and promoting principles of community based research as a standard approach for all research with, by and for people who use drugs.
    • 4:30PM - 5:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: That Which Binds us Together: First Hand Stories of the Attraction of Harm Reduction
        Speaker(s):
        Robert Power (Burnet Institute)

        Description:
        The purpose of this dialogue space is to explore what it is that binds us together. We now have three decades of experience of harm reduction across a wide-range of disciplines, socio-political contexts and cultures. Some of us have been here from the beginning; others will be in their early days. Some will have made a specific personal or professional decision to take up the mantle of harm reduction; others will have come to harm reduction through circuitous circumstance, happenstance or chance. Some will have accepted the approach immediately; others will have needed convincing. Ultimately, most bring unbridled passion and commitment to the cause of harm reduction, be they advocates, practitioners, researchers, or policy- makers. This diversity of experience and history is what we wish to capture. Participants will be asked a simple question: “Describe the moment that made you realise that harm reduction was the way forward and what that meant for you?” All will be invited to participate, with a two-minute limit per contribution. Time will be allocated at the end for guided discussion and reflection. The session will be filmed and contributions (with permission) will be uploaded to the conference website.
  • Wednesday October 21 2015
    • 9:00AM - 10:30AM
      • Plenary 3: Leadership in Drug Policy Reform

        Location: Taming Sari

        This session will explore key areas of tension within the current drug control regime as we head towards the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs

        Chairs: Mme Ruth Dreifuss and Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch

        Dr Carl Hart, Columbia University
        Prof Juan E Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
        Prof Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Dean of Medicine, University of Malaya
        Annie Madden, Executive Officer, Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL)
    • 10:30AM - 11:30AM
      • Dialogue Space: Launch of Hepatitis C Special Issue, International Journal of Drug Policy
        Speaker(s):
        Carla Treloar (Centre for Social Research in Health)
        Magdalena Harris (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

        Description:
        This collection of papers explores the clear challenges in achieving optimal prevention and care of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs. With papers from researchers, clinicians and community advocates, this collection canvasses the most pressing issues, explores strategies to address hepatitis C infection and emphasises the need for partnership with communities affected by hepatitis C. It is hoped that this collection provides important information to help move this agenda forward, while stimulating discussion for achieving global control of hepatitis C and substantially reduce the global burden of hepatitis C -related disease. This collection was a collaboration between International Journal of Drug Policy and the International Network of Hepatitis in Substance Users.
    • 11:00AM - 12:30PM
      • Major 31: Human rights and drug policy reform

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Damon Barrett

        A study on violation of the rights of PWUD in drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centres in Manipur, India
        Dhojo Wahengbam

        Advocacy for a drug policy based on harm reduction and respect of the human rights of PWID in Morocco. A working synergy between NGOs and national bodies in the fight against AIDs and human rights
        Moulay Ahmed Douraidi; Karkouri, Mehdi; Ahmar, Morgane; Himmich, Hakima

        Addressing stigma and discrimination targeted at people who inject drugs - a multifaceted approach
        Fiona Poeder; Pepolim, Lucy; Harison, Tiia; Harrod, Mary

        The impact of the Indonesian government’s ‘emergency drugs’ declaration on harm reduction outreach programmes in south of Jakarta
        Andika Prayudi Wibaskara
      • Major 32: Stimulants and harm reduction in Latin America

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Vitor Araújo (Ministry of Health, Brazil)

        Co-chair: Ana Lúcia Ferraz (Ministry of Health, Brazil)

        This session examines and highlights crack and other stimulant use in Latin America, and the harm reduction response.

        Sponsored by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Brazil, it will showcase research from the region, as well as examples of successful low threshold harm reduction services

        Myrez Cavalcanti (Braços Abertos Program)
        - São Paulo programme for people who use crack
        Francisco Netto, Fiocruz– the Crack Report in Brazil
        Ricardo Baruch, Espolea, Mexico – Drug use and LGBT people: study on meth in Mexico
        Carola Lew, UNODC - the Crack Report in Uruguay
      • Major 33: Harm reduction in Asia

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Adeeba Kamarulzaman

        Leadership in transition: Ministry of Health Malaysia initiated government – non government organisation (GO-NGO) partnership, the driving force behind success of harm reduction efforts in Malaysia
        Shamala Chandrasekaran; Ellan, Parimelazhagan; Kurusamy, Tamayanty; Suleiman, Anita

        Peer leadership within Nepal’s community based harm reduction organisations: processes of community organising, systemic barriers to advocacy and countering the abstinence-based recovery agenda
        Ashmin Thapa; Nicolette, Burrows

        Effects of take-home methadone service on treatment compliance and heroin use reduction for methadone maintenance treatment clients
        Zhihua Yan; Cai, Thomas; Zhang, Bo; Chen, Suoyu

        Situation of injection drug use related HIV epidemic and response in Pakistan: planning for post 2015 era
        Anne Bergenstrom; Achakzai, Baseer; Furqan, Sofia; Saba, Marc;
    • 11:30AM - 12:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Housing as a Harm Reduction Strategy: Health, Safety and Respect
        Speaker(s):
        Jean-Francois Martinbault (Sandy Hill Community Health Centre)

        Description:
        The purpose of this dialogue space is to illustrate that housing is the best way to empower people who use drugs to make healthier choices. It will demonstrate the effectiveness of the Housing First Approach as a harm reduction strategy. Focusing on housing allows us to see drug users as people with dreams, goals, hobbies, skills and personalities; instead of only focusing on their drug use. The dialogue space will give participants the concrete tools needed to implement a Housing First Intervention in their communities.

        The Housing First Intervention from the Oasis Program, in Ottawa, Canada, will serve as a foundation for discussion and information sharing. The participants will then have an opportunity to actively engage in a discussion about the model, to identify concrete problems and solutions that are applicable to their own experiences and environments. The group’s expertise will be used to problem solve and find relevant results.
    • 12:30PM - 1:30PM
    • 1:30PM - 2:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Peer Needle Exchange Programmes
        Speaker(s):
        Mat Southwell (CoAct)
        Charan Sharma (Alliance)

        Description:
        Peer based needle exchange exists in many different forms from secondary needle exchange to peer outreach teams to supplier based schemes to needle and syringe programmes (NSP) run as part of drug user organisations. The global community is recognising the potential to end the AIDS epidemic, however, this will only be possible if HIV prevention measures can be deployed at scale with people who inject drugs (PWID). For NSPs to reach out into the injecting drug using community, peers need to be engaged or supported to promote the exchange of injecting equipment and adoption of safer injecting practices.

        This session will champion peer based NSPs as part of a comprehensive HIV response that is highly adaptable to local conditions and when delivered at scale can significantly impact on HIV and Viral Hepatitis among PWID. This session is another step in technical support collaboration between CoAct, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance Community Action on Harm Reduction programme and the UK National Needle Exchange Forum. Through different events and an online practice sharing project, different peer NSP projects have shared their resources and experiences. CoAct has also produced a series of videos documenting examples of peer based NSP with injectingadvice.com. This Dialogue Space is a chance to gather learning and experiences on Peer NSP. Mat Southwell from CoAct will share key lessons of the project to date. Charan Sharma will then discuss the work of Alliance India in promoting different models of peer NSP as part of the CAHR programme. Everyone is welcome but if you have experience of Peer NSP then please bring resources (ideally in electronic format) that can be shared as part of this open source practice development project. CoAct will also be shooting videos to document examples of Peer NSP.
    • 2:00PM - 3:30PM
      • Parallel 51: Stimulants: Harm and harm reduction

        Location: Taming Sari 1

        Chair: Sarah Evans

        ‘Ice’ in the ED: emergency department presentations in the Melbourne injecting drug user cohort study
        Shelley Cogger; Nambiar, Dhanya; Stoové, Mark; Dietze, Paul

        Speed limits: a review of the evidence about substitute prescribing to amphetamine users in the UK
        Russell David Newcombe

        Social Media as outreach tools, ensuring anonymity and confidentiality for people who use stimulant drugs
        Yvonne Sibuea
      • Parallel 52: Harm reduction/HIV and police

        Location: Taming Sari 2

        Chair: Monica Beg

        This session presents practical insights, benefits and challenges of cooperation between law enforcement, public, social and health authorities and CSO. Speakers will explore the potential and limitations of different schemes of cooperation while bringing into focus the specifics of practical implementation

        Svetlana Doltu; Country Coordinator of Police and HIV network, Lieutenant Colonel (retired), Ministry of Interior, Republic of Moldova

        Pol.Lt.Col. Krisanaphong (Tong) Poothakool, Thailand

        Jimmy Dorabjee, Chairman, ANPUD

        Greg Denham, UNODC Consultant

        Practical guide for CSO ‘Improving working relationships and collaboration with law enforcement’

        Session sponsored by the HIV/AIDS Section, UN Office on Drugs and Crime
      • Parallel 53: Internet, Unternet and harm reduction

        Location: Taming Sari 3

        Chair: Jean Paul Grund

        Digital consumer involvement in harm reduction research: The Bluelight experience
        Monica Jane Barratt

        A season in Deep Web Forums: a doctor´s experience
        Fernando Caudevilla

        Novel psychoactive substances, the Internet and harm reduction: online communities as sites of resistance?
        Kieran Hamilton

        Online drug user-led harm reduction in Hungary: a review of “Daath”
        Levente Móró

        Technology & drugs – the end of drug policy as we know It?
        Jean-Paul Grund
      • Parallel 54: Harms and harm reduction: Image and performance enhancing drugs

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 1

        Chair: Vivian Hope

        Identifying and reducing harm for steroid and image enhancing drugs (SIEDs) injectors, through innovative approaches
        John Campbell; Hunter, Carole

        The harm reduction response to an increase in people who inject performance and image-enhancing drugs attending needle and syringe programmes in Australia: a tale of two states
        Jenny Iversen; Maher, Lisa

        Risk and vulnerability among people who inject image and performance enhancing drugs in England and Wales 2012-2013: where should we focus harm reduction?
        Katelyn J Cullen; Hope, Vivian D; Parry, John V; Ncube, Fortune

        An unhealthy glow? A review of Melanotan use and associated clinical outcomes
        Rebekah Lynne Brennan; Wells, John; Van Hout, Marie Claire
      • Parallel 55: Key campaigning issues for drug policy reform and UNGASS

        Location: Sri Bendahara 1

        Chair: Ann Fordham

        The LSE expert group on the economics of drug policy
        John Collins

        Decriminalisation: what does it mean in Asia?
        Gloria Lai

        Keeping drugs users out of jail. Leadership in developing a drug diversion policy for Indonesia
        Risa Fauzi Alexander; Riyanti, Lastri; Hughes, Chad; Ruddick, Abby

        Peer educators: movement of people who inject drugs(PWID) community in advocating access to health services in East Lombok - Indonesia
        Saputro, Rudi Taryadi; Frederik H.A Malada
      • Parallel 56: Ukraine: Harm reduction progress and the threat of conflict

        Location: Tun Sri Lanang 2

        Chair: Anke van Dam

        Ukraine focused HIV prevention programme brings HIV epidemic under control
        Andriy Klepikov; Deshko, Tetiana; Verster, Annette

        Effect of prevention interventions on risk behaviour change and HCV and HIV seroconversion among PWIDs in Ukraine
        Mariia Samko; Barska, Julia; Sazonova, Iana

        Crimea and South-East of Ukraine
        Igor Kuzmenko

        Drug users and armed conflict: east Ukraine’s brutal ‘war on drugs’
        Lily Sophia Hyde; Skala, Pavlo
      • Workshop: Interactive Training regarding Drug Injection-Related Practices and Risk Behaviours based on Experiences of Médecins du Monde (MdM) Model Programme in Paris and Colombes, France
        Facilitator(s):
        Marie Debrus (Médecins du Monde)

        Description:
        Issue: Merely providing sterile injection materials, general information, education and communication (IEC) to intravenous drug users has been shown to have a limited impact on several injection-related diseases: most importantly the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and other viral and bacterial infections. This workshop targets people who inject drugs (PWID) and harm reduction workers.

        Workshop objective: The aim of this workshop is to improve knowledge on the wide scope of risk behaviours associated with drug injection-related practices and to provide educational and teaching techniques in order to involve PWIDs in less at-risk injection practices.

        Workshop format: After a short presentation of the issue, we will present our French experiences and explain our teaching techniques and the tools used:

        - Anatomical plastic-arm with veins to improve injection skills
        - Visual risk-scale to work on the risk-perception of beneficiaries
        - Colouring agent to show the HCV transmission within injection related paraphernalia
        - Route transition intervention (RTI) tools
        - Additional methods to find veins

        The participants will be divided in different groups to test our tools. The last part of the session will be focused on sharing participant experiences.
    • 2:30PM - 3:30PM
      • Dialogue Space: Lessons from a De- Militarised Zone in the War on Drugs
        Speaker(s):
        Liz Evans (Community Insite)

        Description:
        For 23 years, Liz Evans worked in a community under siege from the impact of criminalising and pushing away people who use drugs. She was a young nurse who witnessed first hand how the impact of policies intended to help were causing destruction and crippling her community. Making progress required a complete reversal in thinking and in policy, from all angles. Her community mobilised, and used public education efforts, political advocacy and direct action to stimulate change. The results were radical. A demilitarised zone in the war on drugs was formed; a state within a state for those not accepted or seen as less than human in mainstream society. They formed a network of housing, specialised health care approaches including North America’s supervised injection site, managed alcohol programmes, crack pipe vending machines, a bank, shops, a laundry, a dental clinic, and hundreds of opportunities each month for community members to engage in paid and volunteer activities. Abstinence was not a requirement for citizenship and these spaces shifted the discourse about what is possible.

        During this dialogue space, Liz will share this story to show how talking about harm reduction does not go nearly far enough for societal transformation to happen. There is a need to fight for marginalised drug users to be treated with dignity across systems while shining the light on the human cost of our policy failures.
    • 4:00PM - 5:30PM
      • CONFERENCE CLOSING

        Location: Taming Sari

        Chairs: John-Peter Kools, Chair of Harm Reduction International and Datuk Raj Karim, President of the Malaysian AIDS Council

        Speakers:
        YBhg Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Bin Abdullah, Director General of Health, Malaysia

        Keynote Speakers:
        Ruth Dreifuss, Former President of Switzerland; Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy
        Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director, National Advocates for Pregnant Women

        Presentation of award for the Best Film in the Indivior Harm Reduction Film Festival

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