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Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction is used to decrease negative consequences of recreational drug use and sexual activity without requiring abstinence, recognizing that those unable or unwilling to stop can still make positive change to protect themselves and others.
A needle and syringe programme (NSP), also known as needle exchange program (NEP), is a social service that allows injecting drug users (IDUs) to obtain clean and unused hypodermic needles and associated paraphernalia at little or no cost. It is based on the philosophy of harm reduction that attempts to reduce the risk factors for blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
Needle sharing is the practice of intravenous drug-users by which a needle or syringe is shared by multiple individuals to administer intravenous drugs such as heroin, steroids, and hormones. This is a primary vector for blood-borne diseases which can be transmitted through blood. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at an increased risk for Hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV due to needle sharing practices. From 1933 to 1943, malaria was spread between users in the New York City area by this method. Afterwards, the use of quinine as a cutting agent in drug mixes became more common. Harm reduction efforts including safe disposal of needles, supervised injection sites, and public education may help bring awareness on safer needle sharing practices.
A methadone clinic is a medical facility where medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are dispensed-—historically and most commonly methadone, although buprenorphine is also increasingly prescribed. Medically assisted drug therapy treatment is indicated in patients who are opioid-dependent or have a history of opioid dependence. Methadone is a schedule II (USA) opioid analgesic, that is also prescribed for pain management. It is a long-acting opioid that can delay the opioid withdrawal symptoms that patients experience from taking short-acting opioids, like heroin, and allow time for withdrawal management. In the United States, by law, patients must receive methadone under the supervision of a physician, and dispensed through an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
HIV/AIDS in India is an epidemic. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimated that 2.14 million people lived with HIV/AIDS in India in 2017. Despite being home to the world's third-largest population of persons with HIV/AIDS, the AIDS prevalence rate in India is lower than that of many other countries. In 2016, India's AIDS prevalence rate stood at approximately 0.30%—the 80th highest in the world. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is via a combination of antiretroviral drugs and education programs to help people avoid infection.
Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre is an alcohol and other drugs organisation located in the inner Melbourne (Australia) suburb of Richmond. Established in 1994 in Fitzroy, the organisation provides clinical treatment and support to those with substance addiction issues, as well as conducting clinical and epidemiological research and development. In addition, the organisation provides education and training to health and welfare professionals.
Blackburn with Darwen tPCT was an English National Health Service primary care trust, responsible for commissioning & purchasing of health care in Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire. It came under the North West of England's NHS strategic health authority (SHA). It was abolished in April 2013.
With less than 0.1 percent of the population estimated to be HIV-positive, Bangladesh is a low HIV-prevalence country.
The drug policy of Portugal, informally called the "drug strategy", was put in place in 2000, and came into effect in July 2001. Its purpose was to reduce the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in the country, as it was estimated around half of new cases came from injection drug use.
Malaysian AIDS Council was established in 1992 under the Ministry of Health (MOH) with a mission to represent, mobilise and strengthen non-governmental organisations and communities who were working with HIV/AIDS issues. The Malaysian AIDS Council began with an umbrella of 18 NGOs who were directly working on the various aspects of HIV/AIDS issues.
Suee (The Needle), a film directed by Sai Paranjpye, explores a number of areas in the lives of injecting drug users including treatment, care, peer and community support, rehabilitation and the workplace. It was launched by Response Beyond Borders, the Asian consortium on drug use HIV/ AIDS and poverty at the IX International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) is a non-profit AIDS service organization that addresses HIV and AIDS in Central Texas. Founded in 1987, ASA is the region's oldest and largest community-based organization addressing the local AIDS crisis. Annually, they provide direct care services to over 1,500 people and HIV prevention education to over 10,000 people.
HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may be instituted by governments and community-based organizations as public health policies.
Humsafar Trust is an NGO in Mumbai which promotes LGBT rights. Founded by Ashok Row Kavi, Suhail Abbasi, and Sridhar Rangayan in 1994, it is one of the largest and most active of such organisations in India. It provides counselling, advocacy and healthcare to LGBT communities and has helped reduce violence, discrimination and stigma against them. Humsafar Trust is the convenor member of Integrated Network for Sexual Minorities (INFOSEM).
Low-threshold treatment programs are harm reduction-based health care centers targeted towards people who use substances. "Low-threshold" programs are programs that make minimal demands on the patient, offering services without attempting to control their intake of drugs, and providing counselling only if requested. Low-threshold programs may be contrasted with "high-threshold" programs, which require the user to accept a certain level of control and which demand that the patient accept counselling and cease all drug use as a precondition of support.
Founded in 1999, Alliance India is a non-governmental organisation operating in partnership with civil society, government and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India that protect rights and improve health. Complementing the Indian national programme, we build capacity, provide technical support and advocate to strengthen the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV programmes to vulnerable populations: sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people, hijras, people who inject drugs (PWID), and people living with HIV.
Drug abuse is a major and a growing problem in Tanzania. In 2011, the drug control commission reported that the number of people who are addicted ranges from 150,000 and 500,000. The National guideline for comprehensive package of HIV interventions for key and vulnerable populations in Tanzania estimates that there are 25,000 to 50,000 people who inject drugs in Tanzania in 2017 which contribute to the unending burden of HIV in the country. Most of the people who are involved in drug abuse in Tanzania are youths, who often engage in trafficking and consuming illegal drugs like cannabis and, they are mostly found in major cities of the country. The common illegal drugs in Tanzania are cannabis which remains widely used followed by heroin, khat, cocaine, marijuana and to a lesser extent inhalants such as petrol, glue and paints.
Inspirasia Foundation is a non-profit organisation that funds and supports projects in health and education for marginalised communities and persons with disabilities.
Metzineres is a nonprofit cooperative based in Barcelona, Spain, providing shelter for vulnerable and marginalized women and non-binary people who use drugs, including homeless people. The project was launched in 2017 and registered as a non-profit cooperative in October 2020.
Harm reduction consists of a series of strategies aimed at reducing the negative impacts of drug use on users. It has been described as an alternative to the U.S.'s moral model and disease model of drug use and addiction. While the moral model treats drug use as a morally wrong action and the disease model treats it as a biological or genetic disease needing medical intervention, harm reduction takes a public health approach with a basis in pragmatism. Harm reduction provides an alternative to complete abstinence as a method for preventing and mitigating the negative consequences of drug use and addiction.
References
- ↑ 'We Have to Look at Primary Education as a Long-Term Medication' - Express Healthcare
- ↑ AEGiS-15IAC: Overview of Harm Reduction Programme at Sankalp in Mumbai to prevent HIVAIDS in drug users
- ↑ Harm Reduction As A Path To Holistic Rehabilitation | Changemakers Archived 2009-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust – India
- ↑ Sankalp helps drug addicts reach a shared solution - Economy and Politics - livemint.com
- ↑ Popularising harm reduction strategies | Interventions
- ↑ 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women | Asia-Pacific HIV, Gender and Human Rights Community of Practice
- ↑ NGO-Forum
- ↑ DO-International
- ↑ Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust – American Jewish World Service Archived 2010-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Annika Linden Foundation focuses in health and education projects for the disadvantaged
- ↑ http://www.lawyerscollective.org/hiv-aids/current-cases/sankalp [ dead link ]
- ↑ Citizen News Service (CNS): Major setback for scaling up Hepatitis C (Hep C or HCV) treatment
- ↑ Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust