Global State of Harm Reduction: 2025 update to key data

This briefing provides updates to key data from Harm Reduction International's flagship report, The Global State of Harm Reduction. The full report is published every two years, with updates to key data released in between editions of the report. This update also summarises key developments in harm reduction services, funding and drug policy since the launch of the ninth edition of the report in November 2024.

This 2025 update presents a stark paradox: while more countries than ever recognise harm reduction in national policy, the sudden withdrawal of US funding in January 2025 has created the most severe threat to global harm reduction services in decades. Services are closing, staff are being lost, and decades of public health progress are at risk.

Yet amid this crisis, extraordinary stories of community resilience have emerged.

Countries with domestic funding have shown the greatest protection. Peer networks have stepped in where formal systems have faltered. Programmes have consolidated resources to maintain life-saving services. This update documents both the devastation and the determination of communities fighting to protect health and human rights for people who use drugs.