Regional forum on healthcare and human rights of people who use drugs “Harm Reduction Works – Fund it!"

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Regional forum on healthcare and human rights of people who use drugs “Harm Reduction Works – Fund it!"

18 March 2014

On May 19-20, 2014 in Chisinau, Moldova Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) will be hosting a Regional Forum on healthcare and human rights of people who use drugs “Harm Reduction Works – Fund it!”. The purpose of the Forum is to create a platform for ongoing dialogue between the drug user activists and representatives of governments and international organizations which influence the national and international policies with respect to medical and social support of drug users and their human rights in the region.

Forum's Program will cover topics related to the regional advocacy initiatives, including the initiative to increase funding for harm reduction services. Launch of a Regional Harm Reduction Council, announcement of the first round of the small grants program for drug user self-organizations and initiatives and research to assess national investments in harm reduction are also on the Forum’s Agenda, while one of the Forum's focal points will be the human rights in light of drug policy and, in particular, addressing violence again women who use drugs. For more information, please see Forum's draft program.

The Forum in Chisinau will be the first important event within the EHRN’s regional program funded by the Global Fund. The grant has been provided to improve the advocacy skills of community activists and staff of drug user self-organizations, and to carry out advocacy campaigns to obtain state funding for harm reduction programs in Easter Europe and Central Asia.

Forum Participants and Attendance

A significant part of nearly 150 of Forum's participants will be representatives of the drug user community and employees and volunteers of harm reduction programs from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. National and international experts in public health management and finance, human rights, representatives from UN and governmental authorities in charge of medical and social support of drug users have also been invited to the Forum.

If you are a member of one of the listed groups, are interested in attending the Forum and are willing to cover the relevant costs, please contact EHRN's Advocacy and Communications Program Assistant Darek Bagdanovič at darek@harm-reduction.org no later than March 31, 2014.

Scholarships to attend the Forum

To inform us of your interest to attend the Forum and the need for a scholarship, please fill out the application form (available in Russian only)

The deadline for submitting Forum scholarship applications is April 2, 2014 12:00 EET.

The following factors will be taken into account in selecting applicants for scholarship:

  • Applicant's experience in national and local advocacy;
  • Applicant's experience in creating or working with drug user community self-organizations and initiatives;
  • Country of residence: under the terms of the Regional Program funded by the Global Fund, applicants from Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan may receive more scholarships than representatives from other countries of the region.

The qualifying applicants will be selected by the Expert Committee comprised of the drug user community representatives and EHRN Secretariat representatives.

60 scholarships will be awarded to the drug user community representatives to provide for their participation in the Forum. To increase the number of participants representing civil society at the expense of current national Global Fund grants and other international projects, EHRN will issue reference letters to those applicants whose applications will be considered the most noteworthy and will assist them in negotiations regarding the sponsorship of their participation in the Forum.

For any further information please visit EHRN website.

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Chișinău, Moldavia
Start18 May 2014
End19 May 2014

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Related Profiles

  • Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN)

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