IHRA releases report: Global State of Harm Reduction 2008

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To coincide with Harm Reduction 2008: IHRA’s 19th International Conference in Barcelona, IHRA have launched a major new report entitled ‘Global State of Harm Reduction 2008: Mapping the response to drug-related HIV and hepatitis C epidemics’. This report consolidates existing data on drug use, HIV and hepatitis C, documents harm reduction policies and practices worldwide, and records the activities of relevant multi-lateral agencies (such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).

The ‘Global State of Harm Reduction 2008’ is the result of several months of hard work and collaborative efforts by IHRA and regional harm reduction networks and organisations around the world. It is the third publication from, and a major component of, the HR2 Programme – IHRA’s programme of research and advocacy on harm reduction and human rights funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The Global State report is designed to be an advocacy and reference tool for a wide range of audiences, including international donor organisations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), organisations of people who use drugs, researchers and the media. The report will also enable IHRA to engage with and work alongside a wide range of partners around the world – regional harm reduction networks, international human rights organisations and HIV and drug policy organisations – to advocate and lobby for harm reduction.

The report has been added to the archive in three sections. Click on the section to see the report.

Section 1 of the ‘Global State of Harm Reduction 2008’ provides a global overview of harm reduction policy and programming in response to HIV and HCV epidemics.

Section 2 contains nine regional overviews which examine the situation and harm reduction response in further depth in Asia, Eurasia, Western Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, North America, Oceania, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Section 3 explores issues that are key to assessing the global state of harm reduction, including human rights, non-injecting drug use and civil society engagement in multilateral processes.