This is "El Campamento", the busiest and most built-up of a handful of hidden-away injection sites along a half-mile stretch of freight track between 2nd Street and Kensington Avenue. For more than 20 years homeless people and drug users have sought refuge in this gulch, and today there are about 70 people living along the tracks and up to 200 passing through every day to shoot up. As nightmarish as it feels, users here say it's a safe place, away from the police and the rest of the public, where people look out for each other and outreach workers visit regularly. Narcan - a nasal spray that reverses overdoses - is never far away.

The city is already predicting a 30% increase in overdoses this year, for the second year running, taking the grim toll from 900 to 1,200 - four times the estimated number of murders. Fentanyl - a tranquiliser 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin which has been linked to deaths across the country - has taken hold, infecting the supply of heroin that floods into Philadelphia from the ports.

DBHIS is working with city-funded outreach groups like Prevention Point, in an attempt to engage with users before the track clearout. The charity began life 25 years ago as an underground needle exchange and two years ago moved into an old brownstone Methodist church in the heart of Kensington, a few blocks from the tracks. Hundreds of users travel to the building from all corners of the neighbourhood and beyond, for a check-up, a pack of clean needles or just a chat, and for a few hours every day the old church has a congregation of sorts.

There are no safe injection sites in America, yet. As the nation's opioid epidemic spirals, several major cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, and New York, are beginning to consider taking the leap, but there is fierce political resistance to the idea.

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USA: As an open-air heroin camp is closed, options narrow

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has directed police to shoot suspected drug dealers, citing the need to be "firm" in the face of a national "narcotics emergency".

Widodo's statement, echoing earlier remarks from National Police chief Tito Karnavian, has elicited criticism from human rights groups, and drawn parallels to the stance of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, whose brutal anti-drug crackdown has resulted in more than 7,000 deaths. Duterte's campaign of extra-judicial and vigilante executions has been strongly condemned by the United Nations.

Indonesia: Why Jokowi's war on drugs is doing more harm than good

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of NGOs that aims to promote objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at the national, regional and international levels. We have over 170 member organisations worldwide, and the IDPC Secretariat is based in London and Bangkok.

We are looking to appoint a Team Assistant to contribute to the smooth running of our secretariat operations based in London, and to provide essential administrative and accounting support to a small but dynamic team.

The successful candidate will have proven administrative and accounting experience, and must be highly motivated, flexible, and capable of working both independently and as part of a team. Previous experience and/or interest in health, human rights or drug policy is not essential, but the successful candidate will possess a willingness to combine administrative work with tasks that require more autonomy. Excellent English communication skills are essential, as is experience with financial administration. Competency in other languages is desirable (especially Spanish and/or French), as is previous experience working with the Xero accounting software.

The successful candidate will join our highly motivated team, and must be a team player with excellent interpersonal skills. This position is based full time in London, and applicants must have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom.

Please click to access the job description.

If you wish to apply for this post, please send a CV (maximum two pages) and a cover letter (maximum one page) to 

17:00 (UK time) on Friday 25th August 2017

. Shortlisted candidates will need to be available for interviews on the 13th, 14th or 15th September in London. We regret that we cannot respond directly to unsuccessful applicants.

News

USA: As an open-air heroin camp is closed, options narrow

Indonesia: Why Jokowi's war on drugs is doing more harm than good

IDPC recruits Team Assistant