Margina is a non-partisan, non-governmental and non-profit association which aims to educate, network, exchange information, and work on improving the position of marginalised young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad, with a special focus on drug use, HIV and STIs.

Margina es una asociación no partidaria, no gubernamental y sin fines lucrativos que se propone educar, establecer vínculos, intercambiar información y trabajar para mejorar la posición de los jóvenes marginalizados en Bosnia y Herzegovina, así como en el exterior, con un énfasis especial en el consumo de drogas, VIH y ETS.

Margina est une ONG à but non-lucratif cherchant à éduquer, à échanger des informations et à les mettre en réseau. Margina cherche à améliorer le statut des jeunes marginalisés en Bosnie-Herzégovine et à l’étranger, en se concentrant tout particulièrement sur l’usage de drogues, le SIDA et les maladies sexuellement transmissibles.

Association Margina

Fom October 1-3, 2015 a regional meeting of NGOs, policy makers and scientists/researchers from the countries of Southeast Europe, was organized by Diogenis Association in Belgrade, to discuss the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS, April 2016) and its significance for Southeast Europe. The meeting closed with the formulation of some conclusions relevant for the situation in the SEE countries.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

The UNGASS 2016 and its significance for SEE: Statement of NGOs in South East Europe

During the last ten years, addiction has taken on alarming proportions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The number of addicts is increasing each year. Existing measures and activities, undertaken during this period, have never had a comprehensive evaluation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In particularly, no one dealt with the relation of invested funds and the results that were obtained.

Analysis of cost effectiveness (Cost-Effectiveness Analysis) of harm reduction services, according to many that we have contacted, is already proven. It shows, in many ways, that harm reduction services provide the highest effectiveness-benefit for the clients, who are the users of these services, as well as for the society, which has multiple benefits from it.

The report's main hypothesis is precisely set in accordance to the guiding principle "benefit for the society", because this analysis will in the future be a very powerful tool for the advocacy process at all levels, and for showing the justification of financial and material investment in these services.

The report's goal was to, on the basis of data collected from various sources and by data triangulation, illustrate the relation of services and prices of several segments of harm reduction services, as well as the relation between treatment services and prices for certain diseases that occur as a direct or indirect result of drug use.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of harm reduction in Bosnia and Herzegovina

With the passing of the National Action Plan for the fight against illicit drugs 2009-2013, and the adoption of the Law on the Prevention and Suppression of Drug Abuse in BiH "Official Gazzete of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2006.“, the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina clearly demonstrated its commitment to this field. One course of action and commitment of the state in this direction is the opening of drop in centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Drop in centers purpose is to provide it clients a comfortable place for rest, sleep and any other needs (personal hygiene, laundry, etc.). At the center, a responsible person (drop in the operator) is always present and available for the clients. Among other things, once or twice a week, nurse, social worker and lawyer come to the drop in center to advise the clients of the center. Clents of the Center are not only people who inject drugs, but also sex workers and former prisoners. Drop in centers organize field work (outreach) which aims to reach the target groups and to establish contact with addicts who, on their own, do not have contact with any health or social institution. Outreach work acts in the immediate environment of addicts. Outreach workers are not only college-educated people, but also people with experience in drug use that have many years of stable abstinence.

Accreditation Standards for drop in centers were created as part of the "Package of harm reduction services in Bosnia and Herzegovina" related to the UN Global Fund for HIV / AIDS, TB & Malaria project implementation. These standards rely on policies and programs and good practices to reduce the social, health and economic consequences of (mis) use of legal and illegal psychoactive substances, without them irrefutably reducing injection drug use. Harm reduction as a program has been recognized by the World Health Organization, UNODC and the UNAIDS.

In addition to the national literature used in the preparation of these standards, international references, downloaded from the official site of EMCDDA* (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction), were used as well. The EMCDDA has existed since the 1993., and is one of the EU's decentralized agencies with headquarters in Lisbon. It gives EU member states a factual overview of the events associated with psychoactive substance abuse and offers topics for discussion.

The goal is to, throuh accreditation standards and accreditation of drop in centers, achieve for all centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina to operate and provide services to their customers at the same, guaranteed level of quality, which primarily refers to the safety of the clients and personnel at drop in centers.

Accreditation standards for drop-in centres in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Harm Reduction Policy in the field of combating dependency (hereinafter referred to as the Policy), which includes the provision of sterile syringes, needles and other injecting equipment, in order to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases (HIV , hepatitis B and C) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It also includes the safe disposal and destruction of already used injecting equipment, testing for HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, STIs and tuberculosis, promoting immunization, provision of medically assisted withdrawal and active tracing and referral of people who inject drugs towards the teams of Family Medicine, Department for Dependency, mental health centers in the community, and social support services, counceling psychologists and legal assistance to people who inject drugs and their family members.

Harm reduction policy for drug use in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last month, Association Margina – a non-governmental, non-profit association which aims to support marginalised young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a special focus on drug use and HIV – marked the tenth anniversary of their formation. Members, guests and volunteers attended a special ceremony in city of Zenica to celebrate ten years of existence and successful work.

Association Margina was created in 2003 in Zenica by a group of people gathering around a common vision – that every individual from marginalised groups of society in Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to have health and social care. At the very begining of the Association's work, private resources of the founders were used. With great effort and dedication, the organisation quickly began implementing programmes and has gone from strength to strength since.

President Denis Dedajic, in a short address to the audience, expressed great satisfaction with the achievements of Association Margina during the past decade, and reflected on the very beginnings when Margina operated from a renovated garage and consisted of just a few dedicated enthusiasts. At the ceremony, plaques and certificates were awarded to the institutions and individuals who have contributed to the development of Association Margina during the first decade of its existence – including IDPC – and those present took the opportunity to congratulate their hosts and wish them well for the future.

Alongside this event, Association Margina also organised a three-day symposium: “Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of services for the prevention and treatment of HIV and Hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. The symposium was supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and was administered by UNDP. It gathered professionals together to facilitate broad discussion on the topic. The need for strong cooperation and coordination between governmental and non-governmental sectors was raised, and particular emphasis was placed on financial issues and the necessity of rationalising health systems and optimising existing services in order to achieve more efficient results.

In conclusion, all participants agreed on the importance of alternative programmes and services, and the desired goals which can only be achieved through joint efforts and working together. A final report based on this topic will be available soon (the first document of this kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina, if not the whole region).

Association Margina celebrates 10 years

On the 7th – 8th November 2013, the Global Fund’s Board will consider revisions to the Eligibility, Counterpart Financing and Prioritization Policy (ECFP), based upon recommendations from its Strategy Impact and Investment Committee (SIIC). While some of these recommendations are positive; others, if adopted without changes, would have negative consequences for middle-income countries (MICs) and particularly regions with MICs such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

We – the organizations representing civil society and including communities of people living with these diseases, i.e. key affected populations from different countries and regions - are deeply concerned about these recommendations and would like to share with Global Fund Board members our position on several critical issues that should be considered by the Board during its deliberations.

Joint statement of civil society organisations to the Global Fund

This is the third newsletter of the Drug Policy Network in South Eastern Europe, which is published quarterly in order to facilitate a more regular communication between the Network organisations and inform in general those who are interested in developments related to activities of NGOs active in the field of Drugs.

The Newsletter is prepared and published by the Diogenis Association, Drug Policy Dialogue in South East Europe.

The newsletter focuses on various topics, including: Criminal justice, Social and health programmes, Human rights, Events of interest.

This newsletter provides updates on the drug policy and harm reduction situation in Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Newsletter: Drug Policy Network South East Europe

During its annual meeting in Vienna in March 2012, the Drug Policy Network in South East Europe decided to publish a quarterly Newsletter for a more regular communication between the Network organisations.

The Newsletter was prepared and published by Diogenis, Drug Policy Dialogue in South East Europe, in collaboration with the members of the South East Europe Drug Policy Network. Each newsletter focuses on two or three countries in the region, for which updates are provided on issues related to drug policy reform, criminal justice, social and health programmes and human rights.

The first edition of the Newsletter provides updates on drug policy developments in Albania and Greece.

http://www.diogenis.info/index.php?menu_id=3c34fe9e-8120-11e0-822c-1c0ce76237ea&language=en

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