The Public Health and Social Policy team conducts original research and analysis to track developments in harm reduction and ensure people who use drugs have the health and social services they need.
Our independent analysis focuses on the uptake of harm reduction approaches worldwide, both in terms of policy and service delivery, to support advocacy in the scale-up of harm reduction. Further, we track innovative reduction programmes for particular populations of people who use drugs, including women and people in prison.
Our continual monitoring of trends in harm reduction helps to inform the evidence-base in this area, and serves as a resource for people working in the fields of public health, human rights and drug use.
See below for examples of our work
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Global State of Harm Reduction - 2021 Update
The 2021 update to the key data in the Global State of Harm Reduction found that the spread of harm reduction services continues to stall globally – a trend we have observed since 2012.
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Integrated and Person Centred Harm Reduction Services
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Chemsex and Harm Reduction for Gay Men and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men
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Briefing: Innovation and resilience in times of crisis (Part 2): The response to COVID-19 from harm reduction service........................................................................................................................................
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The Global
State of Harm Reduction
Our flagship biennial publication, The Global State of Harm Reduction, tracks the provision of health and social services worldwide for people who use drugs.
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Statement: Drug use and drug dependency itself is not a mental health condition
Our new statement from INPUD and HRI raising concerns about the conflation of drug use and mental health. We wrote this in response to ongoing global discussions, including among key international donors.
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Barriers to Harm Reduction for Women Who Use
Drugs
This report investigates the experiences of women who use drugs with access to harm reduction and health services in Durban, South Africa.
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Harm Reduction for Women in Prisons
Punitive drug policies disproportionately impact women, and drug use and drug offences are a significant contributor to the incarceration of women around the world.
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A Global Review of the Harm Reduction Response to
Amphetamines
Our 2015 overview looks at the availability of harm reduction services for people who use stimulants, such as methamphetamine, cathinone and methcathinone.
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Community-based drug treatment models for people who use
drugs
The detention of people who use drugs within compulsory centres for ‘treatment’ and ‘rehabilitation’ remains a predominant government response to drug use in many Asian countries. This report explores alternatives to compulsory detention implemented in six Asian countries.
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Step-by-step: Preparing for work with children and young people
who inject drugs
Globally, the protection and care of children and young people who inject drugs receives little attention. It is a controversial and often misunderstood issue and one that is severely underfunded. This toolkit - developed with out partners - is intended as a resource for harm reduction service providers with limited experience of working with children and young people who inject drugs.
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When sex work and drug use overlap:
Considerations for advocacy and practice
This report examines the varied contexts within which sex work and drug use overlap. Drawing on experiences from the harm reduction and sex work communities, the report highlights existing programmes from around the world that reach people who use drugs and sell sex.
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