UHRN Press statement on the drug use situation for people inject drugs in Uganda
Uganda Harm Reduction Network (UHRN) is a youth led drug user initiative established in 2008 and registered under Reg. No. 181733 to respond to the drug use crisis in Uganda. The network works to advocate for practical interventions aimed at supporting and addressing issues of people who use drugs. The network also seeks to provide a national platform for health and policy programs that promote good practices and advocate for a supportive environment for the adoption, implementation and expansion of harm reduction programs for people who use drugs (PWUDS) in Uganda.
In response to an article in Hello tabloid titled “Jackie Health in Red” dated 13th April 2016, the writer narrates how Jackie Chandiru’s (Prominent musician in Uganda) health is too complex for medical doctors in Uganda as family seeks help from Ex-lover for quick intervention. The writer further indicates that Jackie is being treated at a rehabilitation center at CORSU hospital in Kisubi. However as Jackie is seeking for medication on the other hand Moses Kyomukama the commissioner of Police and director in charge antinarcotic unit insists that after her recovery, she will be charged for being in possession and consumption of illicit drugs under the new Antinarcotic Law as soon as she’s discharged she will be apprehended by police. The addiction to drugs is a health concern, not a genuine instance of injustice. The criminalization of a public health issue has created huge and complex obstacles for people motivated to eliminate their drug dependence to seek or obtain necessary health care and support. When public health options are made available, studies have reported dramatic declines in drug dependence, mortality and overdose. If we want to encourage people to seek treatment, we need to assure them that they will not face prison for doing so.
UHRN firmly believes that there must be a stronger focus on the health needs and human rights of all people who use drugs, especially those who inject. There is a serious gap in service provision in Uganda for PWUD where no attention is given to those who need drug dependence treatment services. We as UHRN we are well aware in Uganda there is no treatment centers for people who use drugs, like cocaine, heroin and other opioids. Growing evidence indicates that drug treatment and counseling programs are far more effective in reducing drug addiction and abuse than is incarceration. Treatment like methadone, nalexone that can save her life is still illegal in Uganda and anyone being in possession of those drugs in the later is criminalized if not authorized by the government. Such Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) is a treatment for persons who are addicted to heroin using prescribed medication. Such kind of treatment is prohibited in Uganda.
The current Antinarcotic law is a blow to public health; the Narcotics Law penalizes possession of illicit drugs with 10 to 25 years in prison. Trafficking—which encompasses everything from small sales to international export—is punishable with a life sentence. Even those who never come across an illicit substance can find themselves ensnared. The law goes so far as to levy a five-year prison sentence for failure to disclose prior prescriptions for narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances (including those held for pets and farm animals) when receiving a new prescription. Punitive laws like this push people who use drugs especially those who inject to higher risks of HIV, Hepatitis and other blood pathogen transmission away from accessing prevention information, health and social services that are vital to managing drug dependence, preventing transmission of HIV, and supporting people to live full and productive lives. By further criminalizing drug use, this law pushes PWUD into the shadows. PWUD are afraid to talk and afraid to seek much-needed medical help because the government has now definitively positioned drug use as a justice issue, rather than a health issue.” The Police action will frighten people who use drugs from accessing the available health services in case they want to withdraw from drug use.
As drug use in Uganda is on the rise, we as Uganda Harm Reduction Network we advocate for a responsive treatment which encompasses the 9 harm reduction interventions which Uganda as a country has not embraced. UHRN has been advocating for inclusion of harm reduction interventions in polices and guidelines as per World Health Organization guidelines. We therefore call upon the government of Uganda not to criminalize drug users seeking health services but rather offer treatment support and non-coercive rehabilitation.
For further information contact; Email: admin@ugandaharmreduction.org / uhrnetwork@gmail.com Tel: (+256) 414 664 730, 704 393 161
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