A guide to developing and implementing overdose prevention programs

Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN) presents new publication – A guide to developing and implementing overdose prevention programs prepared by Janna Ataiants and Dasha Ocheret (EHRN). This guide was developed in response to the growing need among service providers working with drug users in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to introduce overdose prevention work into their services. It summarized best regional practices and provides recommendations on overdose programming based on lessons learned from colleagues in the region.

Overdose is a major cause of preventable death among injecting drug users (IDU) in many regions in the world. Although the scale of the problem is huge, the official overdose statistics are often unreliable and dramatically underestimate real levels. As a result, governments do not have a comprehensive overview of the overdose situation and related deaths as well as consistent response strategy. Existing projects and programs aimed at reducing the impact of overdose are sporadic and of undetermined quality.

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