As in previous years, groups and organisations will wish to organise meetings and satellite events to take place around Harm Reduction 2013. Harm Reduction International and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network welcome the opportunity to support and promote these events via the website and other media and acknowledge them in the conference reader. Unless noted otherwise, these are open sessions, and no previous sign-up is needed. For further information please contact conference2013@harm-reduction.org. The events planned are as follows:
Date: June 8-9
Time: 8.30 to 18.00
Venue: Best Western Hotel, Konstitucijos ave. 14, Vilnius
Name: Regional school on advocacy of interests and access to services for people who use drugs in relation to HIV
Organiser: International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine
Description:
Goal is to increase effectiveness of advocacy activities aimed at
increasing access to HIV related comprehensive services for PWUD in
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
Main components of the training:
• Mechanism of advocacy and defending of the rights
• Develop skills to plan advocacy events aiming to increase access to comprehensive services for people who use drugs (PWUD)
• Analysis of the existing advocacy experience in the participating countries
•
Key advocacy methods (development of documentation, constructive
relationships with governmental institutions, work with media, street
campaigns, etc.)
• Development of yearly advocacy plans on the regional and national levels.
Facilitators: Anna Dovbah, Pavel Skala
Date: June 9
Time: 09.00-18.00
Venue: Best Western Hotel, Konstitucijos ave. 14, Vilnius
Name: Satellite Seminar: Harm reduction: how and why?
Organiser: UNAIDS, EHRN
Description:
United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Eurasian Harm
Reduction Network (EHRN), as well as Harm Reduction Knowledge Hub for
Europe and Central Asia will be holding a seminar 'Harm reduction: how
and why?' The aim of the seminar is to assist journalists working in
Eastern Europe and Central Asia to better understand the topics of drug
policy, human rights, harm reduction (opioid substitution treatment,
needle and syringe exchange programs) and HIV prevention. The review of
key events at the conference for journalists will also be provided.
Conference will provide a perfect opportunity to master the knowledge
gained at the seminar.
The seminar should be of special interest to journalists writing on the topics of medicine, science, health and social problems.
Facilitators: TBD.
Date: June 10
Time: 11.00-12.30
Venue: Best Western Hotel, Konstitucijos ave. 14, Vilnius
Name: Satellite Workshop: Integrated harm reduction and tuberculosis services for people who use drugs
Description:
The workshop will provide space for facilitated exchange of best
practice and ways of problem solving on the topic of integrated harm
reduction and tuberculosis services for people who use drugs.
Experiences will be shared by participants who submitted abstracts to
the Regional Track from Russia and Ukraine on advocating for access to
TB treatment, integration of TB and harm reduction services, early case
finding among people who use drugs. The workshop will aim to define main
issues in providing services for people who use drugs, possible
solutions and recommendations for further development. The workshop will
be open for participation and anyone interested in existing practices,
problems and solutions are invited to join. Russian-English
interpretation will be provided.
Facilitators: Mariya Tvaradze (Russia).
Date: June 10
Time: 12.45-13.45
Venue: ‘Sky Bar’, Radisson Blu Hotel
Name: The IDPC Drug Policy Advocacy Training Toolkit
Description: Please join us for the launch of this innovative new resource.
Lunch will be provided.Across the world, civil society organisations play an important role in promoting alternative drug policies that are grounded in human rights and public health. Civil society can hold governments to account for the harms of ineffective, repressive policies, and help to ensure the supportive policy environments in which harm reduction services can operate effectively.
The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) has worked alongside the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) to develop a comprehensive Drug Policy Advocacy Training Toolkit. This open access resource aims to build the capacity of civil society organisations (including networks of people who use drugs) to perform essential advocacy functions – supporting better engagement with policy making processes.
The Toolkit includes modules on drug control systems, principles of effective policy, harm reduction advocacy, and the role of civil society – each of which contains activities and content that can be adapted for different audiences and timescales, including innovative group exercises and the latest data. It is the first resource of its kind, and has been successfully piloted in Europe, Asia and Africa. In this lunchtime session, we will introduce the Toolkit and hear feedback from those who have been involved in the piloting phase
Facilitators: Jamie Bridge, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC); Daniel Tinga Kalafa, Kenya Network of People Who Use Drugs (KENPUD); Fransiska Asmin, Indonesian; Coalition for Drug Policy Reform (ICDPR)
Please find the flyer for this event here
Date: June 10
Time: 17.30 - 19.30
Venue: Epsilon Room
Name: UNODC satellite session: HIV among people who inject drugs in Asia
Description: Is the region on track with meeting global commitments on reducing HIV transmissions?
Join us for this dynamic session chaired by Dr. Monica Beg, Chief a.i., HIV and AIDS Section, UNODC
Speakers include:
- Ms. Alison Crocket, Senior Adviser, UNAIDS
- Ms. Ruth Birgin, Vice Chair, Asian Network of People who Use Drugs
- Mr. Gary Reid, Independent Consultant
- Ms. Anne Bergenstrom, Regional Adviser, HIV/AIDS, UNODC (Regional Office for Southeast Asia)
For more information on this session please click here
Date: June 10
Time: 17.30 - 19.30
Venue: Sky Bar
Name: Needle and syringe programme in prisons
Description: 20 years of evidences, 20 years of advocacy: It's time to scale up!
In prisons, the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HVC tends to be much higher than in the community. People who inject drugs are overrepresented, and some do inject in prisons. Still the access to harm reduction in prisons is very limited and far behind the access in the community.
Need and syringe prorgramme (NSP) is a key element of the HIV responses in over eighty countries, yet HIV response in prisons lags far behind. Twenty year after the first need and syringe programme was implemented in the prison of Hindelbank (CH), only a hand full of countries extended this service in prison settings.
Speakers include:
- Dr. Fabienne Hariga, Senior HIV Advisor, United Nations on Drugs and Crime
- Ms. Irina Teplinskaya, community relations coordinator of the Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice
- Mr. Ruslan Muntianas, Community representative
- Svetlana Doltu, Head of the Division of the Department of Penitentiary Institutions, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Moldova
- Dr. Xavier Majó i Roca, Head of the Harm Reduction Section of the Programme on Substance Abuse, Public Health Agency of Catalonia-Government of Catelonia, Spain
For more information on this event, please find the flyer in English here and in Russian here
Date: June 12
Time: 14.00-15.30
Venue: Best Western Hotel, Konstitucijos ave. 14, Vilnius
Name: Satellite Workshop: Desomorphine and other emerging drugs
Description:
The workshop will provide space for facilitated exchange of experiences
in working with desomorphine users and other emerging drugs.
Experiences will be shared by participants – including people who used
rugs, health care specialists and researches – who submitted abstracts
to the Regional Track on the topic from Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.
Topics will include patterns of use, ways of information dissemination,
ways to reduce harm from desomorphine, treatment, etc. The workshop will
aim to define main issues in addressing desomorphine and other emerging
drugs, possible solutions and recommendations for further development.
The workshop will be open for participation and anyone interested in
existing practices, problems and solutions are invited to join.
Russian-English interpretation will be provided.
Facilitators: TBD
Date: June 12
Time: 11.00-12.30
Venue: Best Western Hotel, Konstitucijos ave. 14, Vilnius
Name: Satellite Workshop: 'Harm reduction ethics'
Description:
The workshop will provide space for facilitated exchange of opinions
and views on ethics of harm reduction – decades into the practical work
of harm reduction but ethical questions still fuel a lot of discussions.
Views will be presented by participants who submitted abstracts to the
Regional Track from Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and
Slovakia. The workshop will aim to define main issues, dilemmas and
recommendations to address them. The workshop will be open for
participation and anyone interested in exchanging views in invited.
Russian-English interpretation will be provided.
Facilitators: TBD
SITE VISITS
Date: June 10, Russian
Date: June 11, English
Time: 12.30-14.00 (the bus leaves the hotel at 12.30). The bus will be waiting at Radisson Blue from the street Upes side with the sign “DEMETRA”.
Venue: Kauno str. 6, Vilnius, Lithuania
Name: NGO “Demetra” low threshold HIV testing and NSP services
Description: The association of HIV affected women and their families „Demetra“ provides wide range of services for HIV positive people – sending them for diagnosis confirmation and treatment as well as psycho-social support provision. „Demetra“ provides rapid HIV tests, pre- and post-test counseling. All over Lithuania “Demetra” has 17 sites. “Demetra provides harm reduction services for injecting drug users and sex workers, hands out syringes, condoms, organizes "outreach" work.
During the visit, the Association head will tell you more about the organization and its activities. You can also see how rapid HIV tests are carried out include pre-test and post-test counseling, how syringes are handed out and other preventive measures are being provided. Also you will be able to talk to and share experiences with the Association specialists - social workers, nurse, psychologist.
Registration: due to the limited number of seats please register for either English or Russian site visit at irena@demetra.lt by COB 8 June
Date: 11 June
Time: 12.30-14.00
Venue: Hotel Radisson Blue, entrance from the Konstitucijos ave. side, parking lot, Vilnius, Lithuania
Name: Mobile point of Vilnius Center for Addictive Disorders
Language: Russian
Description:
Vilnius Centre for Addictive Disorders has a number of different
services for IDU, including inpatient and outpatient detoxification,
residential rehabilitation and opioid substitution therapy (OST) since
1995. Since 2010 the Centre has established a specially equipped vehicle
- Mobile clinic, which is used for needle exchange and methadone
dispensing.
Needle exchange, counseling and referrals of IDU for
medical and social services were established since 2001, when the
minivan 'The Blue Bus' was launched by the mayor of Vilnius city.
Currently harm reduction services are provided through Mobile clinic
yearly for more than 2300 IDU and sex-workers in 2 locations (Roma
settlement and railway station area).
Since 2010 methadone dispensing
has started from the Mobile clinic as well. The rationale to start
dispensing methadone from a Mobile Clinic was to prevent grouping of OST
patients, which caused dissatisfaction of the neighborhood and
attracted potential drug dealers in the past. Currently methadone is
dispensed continuously for around 50 OST patients (from the total number
of around 280 in the city) in 2 locations.
Locations for operation
of Mobile Clinic to provide harm reduction services and methadone
dispensing were approved by the Vilnius City municipality. Methadone
maintenance is funded from the State Patients Fund and Vilnius
municipality.
To see the satellite meetings in Russian, please click here
