The West Africa Drug Policy Network (WADPN) is inviting you to participate in their first-ever regional online harm reduction conference on 

“the state of harm reduction and effective drug control response in West Africa”

Thursday 1st July 2021 at 11:00 am (Accra time) on the WADPN Zoom platform.

Harm reduction is fundamental to WADPN’s evidence-based drug policy reform advocacy in the sub-region. Despite evidence of its effectiveness, harm reduction remains largely despised by many countries save a few. The conference, therefore, seeks to explore the benefits of harm reduction as an effective alternative to criminalization and incarceration for minor nonviolent drug offenses, particularly problematic drug use.

 - Deputy Director & Public Health Lead, HRI

 - Director, Community Engagement, Follow the Money

 - President, Association Sauver Ma Santé, Mbour Hospital

 - Executive Director, West Africa Drug Policy Network, WADPN

 - Founding Member, Paroles Autour de la Santé, Ivory Coast & Mali

The state of harm reduction & effective drug control response in West Africa

: To raise awareness on, and interest in, the role of the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) in advocating for the application of science-based strategies in policy- and decision-making at local level.

: Prevention practice in Europe does not always keep pace with advances in prevention science, and available guidance, standards and registries of evidence-based interventions are not always sufficient to change policymakers’ funding decisions. This webinar aims to raise awareness on the role of the EUPC in advocating for the application of science-based strategies in decision-making at local level. The EUPC includes training for Decision-, Opinion-, and Policy-makers (DOPs) on how to prioritise evidence-based interventions and policies and on how to advocate for them. This represents a paradigm shift from offering guidance (‘let things happen’) to actively promoting change in decision-making (‘make things happen’). Speakers and stakeholders from Belgium, Germany, Estonia and Croatia will gather in conversation around this topic.

: This event is the third in a new wave of EMCDDA webinars being offered in 2021. EMCDDA webinars are designed to give a voice to professionals working in the drugs field and are conceived as conversations around key topics of interest and emerging challenges, as well as a means to build relations with potential or future stakeholders. The 2021 programme of webinars follows a testing phase in 2020, which saw seven COVID-19-related webinars rolled out between May and December. Chaired by EMCDDA staff members, the webinars are open to professionals working in the drugs field and other individuals with an interest in the topic.

Maximilian von Heyden: Finder Institute for Prevention Research, Germany

Triin Vilms: National Institute for Health Development, TAI, Estonia

Law enforcement — Ivan Paksic: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Croatia

Education system — Cynthia Deman: Centre for Mental Health Care Waas en Dender, Belgium

Local policymaking — Frederick Groeger-Roth: Lower-Saxony Ministry of Justice, Germany

: Marica Ferri and Gregor Burkhart, EMCDDA

: EMCDDA opening remarks, two presentations (20 minutes in total), three panellists (question-guided discussion), Q&A from attendees.

: The webinar is open to EMCDDA staff members, NFP network, and external individuals.

Participation is possible upon registration, after which the person will receive a link to connect.

: 28.04.2021 — 12.00–13.30 (Lisbon time), 13.00–14.30 (CET)

Advocacy for science-based prevention: the evidence doesn’t speak for itself

Middlesbrough has been operating England's only Heroin Assisted Treatment programme for 18mths with some fantastic early findings. The programme has seen dramatic increase in individual participants health and well being and a significant reduction in crime .

Daniel Ahmed is a clinical partner at foundations with 20 years' experience in the substance use field as a specialist mental health nurse prescriber.

Aims of the Scheme :
Reduce the number of deaths caused by heroin addiction;
Promote independence, long-term recovery and end offending behaviour;
Provide respite for local residents and businesses, who often find themselves victims of crime to fund addiction;
Remove the health risks associated with street heroin and drug litter;
Free up substantial public resources, including health and police, currently dealing with the problem;
Cut off funding streams to drugs gangs

Heroin assisted treatment - Saving lives and communities

By Maria Plotko, J. Stola, I. Molnar, P. Sarosi, T. Jovanovic, R. Karczewska, K. Smukowska, M. Arlauskaitė, Y. Georgieva

A report developed within the LEt’s Talk about drugs – new MEthods of communication with youth – LET ME project funded by the European Commission (ERASMUS+ program)

In June-July 2020 Rights Reporter Foundation, YODA, Re Generation, Young Wave and Center for Humane Policy conducted an assessment of drug education in Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Serbia based on the methodology developed by EHRA within the LEt’s Talk about drugs – new MEthods of communication with youth – LET ME project funded by the European Commission (ERASMUS+ program). The goal of the study was to assess existing drug education and its effectiveness, look at what information on drugs is available and how it is perceived by young people, examine the methods and tools used by different actors to talk about drugs with youth, and gather best practices.

The stakeholders interviewed—young people and representatives of harm reduction, prevention, and youth organizations—all agree that existing drug education is ineffective and fails to address the needs and patterns of drug use among young people.

The report will be used to design and create the manual, but also for the advocacy activities related to the promotion of prevention and harm reduction services in the youth work.

Let's talk about drugs - Assessment of drug education in Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and Serbia - Regional report

, a partnership of civil society organisations based in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, The Netherlands and Ukraine, celebrates its 20th anniversary!

Since 2001 we are building bridges between East and West, we promote health and increase the access of key populations to prevention, treatment and care for major public health concerns such as HIV, TB, viral hepatitis, and sexual and reproductive health in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

, the Amsterdam-based partner, invites you to join an online talk with experts about its work for marginalized groups in Eastern Europe and Central Asia – groups that lack access to health services because of persistent stigma and discrimination

Bob Deen, Senior Research Fellow/ Coordinator Russia and Eastern Europe Centre at Clingendael

There are many issues at stake in the EECA region; the political unrest, armed and frozen conflicts, a civil society that desires change. These issues influence access to health services and therefore the health of citizens. Current situation could be a tipping point. What diplomatic opportunities do the EU and the Netherlands have to support local governments and civil society in the EECA region to contribute to a healthy future?

Sasha Volgina, Programme manager at GNP+

Civil Society Organisations in the EECA region have become strong and vocal to advocate for human rights and freedoms. Local authorities do not fully recognize the vital role of CSOs in society, especially in their role for the marginalized and discriminated groups. Support to EECA based CBOs and NGOs is very limited to none. What can we do to enhance a favorable, financial environment for CSOs? What are the benefits of a collaboration between East and West?

Please, watch the event online on 3 December at 11.30 (CET) on Youtube!

The meeting will be held in English and translated into Russian.

20 years of East-West collaboration: Building bridges to the future

Webinar hosted by the World Health Organization on streamlining prevention and treatment for people who use drugs in prisons.

Date of the event: 7th October 2020
Online entry of participants: 15:30 CET (14:30 London time)
Time of the event: 16:00-17:40 CET (15:00-16:40 London time)

Streamlining prevention and treatment for drug users in prisons

The Pompidou Group's European Prevention Prize was first launched in 2004. It is awarded every two years. In each two-year cycle, up to three prizes are awarded. You can find information about earlier prize-winners by following the links in the 'Successful Projects' box on this webpage.

Prize-winners are high-quality drug prevention projects that fully involve young people. Young people are involved in the development and implementation of activities, in project decisions, in project management and perhaps in project evaluation.

The Pompidou Group awards the Prize to highlight excellent drug prevention projects that have proved successful in practice in involving young people. It aims to encourage the development of drug prevention work where young people are actively participating. The Pompidou Group believes that the genuine involvement of young people improves the possibilities of successful drug prevention.

The projects which apply are evaluated by a Jury of seven young people (aged between 16 and 21 at the time of their appointment) recruited from the Pompidou Group's and Council of Europe member States. The jurors are selected by the Pompidou Group based on their experience of youth participation in drug prevention. Jurors serve for two terms. The Jury is advised by a former juror and by a drug prevention expert, but only jury members take the decisions on awarding the Prize.

The prize-winners each receive a trophy, a diploma and a prize-money of €5.000. Previous prize-winners say that the recognition of their value by the Pompidou Group has been invaluable in helping them to secure funding.

Pompidou Group's European Prevention Prize 2021

The Virtual Conference on Drug Demand Reduction in Africa - Prevention, Treatment and Epidemiology will take place through a series of six plenary sessions beginning September 16, 2020, through to November 10, 2020.

To register for the individual sessions, please head on over to the registration page.

Plenary 1: Setting the Scene for Drug Demand reduction in Africa

 2 – 4:10 pm SA / 1 – 3:10 pm UK time / 8 – 10:10 am EST


 Jeff Lee and Livia Edegger, ISSUP Global

Plenary 2: Evidence-based Prevention: Policy and Practice

Plenary 3: A Focus on Treatment and Recovery

Plenary 4: Epidemiology and Its Role in Drug Demand Reduction

 Dr. Reychad Abdool, African Union Commission

Plenary 5: Role of Legislators and Traditional health Practitioners in Drug Demand Reduction

Plenary 6: Review and Reflections: A Panel Session

 African Union Commission and ISSUP Global

Virtual conference on drug demand reduction in Africa - Prevention, treatment and epidemiology

On the path toward building up its internal security, on 24 July 2020, the European Commission adopted a new EU Agenda and Action Plan on Drugs 2021-2025 (and the Annex) as part of the Security Union Strategy. The new EU Agenda and Action Plan on Drugs 2021-2025 sets out the political framework and priorities for action in the next five years.

The objective is to protect citizens through better coordinated actions to address the security and health implications of drug trafficking and drug use. It reinforces the evidence-based, integrated and balanced approach to demand and supply reduction of drugs, through a comprehensive, multidisciplinary lens.

The current drugs situation in the EU requires comprehensive security and health responses covering the scientific, environmental, socio-political, technological and international dimensions of the issue.

The EU Agenda on Drugs outlines 8 strategic priorities which are divided under

Enhanced security (focused on all aspects of illicit trafficking of drugs).

Increased prevention (of the adverse effects of drugs including link to violence).

Addressing drug related harms (through access to treatment, risk and harm reduction, and a balanced approach to the issue of drugs in prisons).

It is accompanied by an Action Plan covering concrete operational steps and activities.

EU Agenda and Action Plan on Drugs 2021-2025

Evidence-based drug policy simply refers to the use of evidence (data, proofs) to guide our response to drug control. It is simply ensuring that current best evidence is being used in making decisions. This means the quality of our outcome will improve or become better if our response is influenced by science, data or evidence. This also means that for us to use current best evidence, we have to be ready to systematically evaluate our laws, policies and practices to determine whether they are actually fit for purpose.

If we take a look at drug laws and policies that exist today, we will realize that most of them were developed based on opinions, sentiments and not really by critically examining what the situation was, what they intend to achieve and how best to achieve them. For example, in West Africa, Nigeria inclusive, most of the drug laws are reactive. They were developed just to respond to the outcry against drug trafficking and illicit drugs transiting through the region to the thriving markets in North America and Europe. So, the laws were developed based on the idea that we need to just stop the flow of drugs through the region. This further influenced the metrics or indicators that were being used to measure the success in the drug control effort. That’s why you hear about the number of arrests, seizures, people jailed or criminalized and so forth.

Unfortunately, the drug laws do not reflect the realities of what the drug situation is in the countries across the region. This was part of what prompted the efforts of the West Africa Commission on Drugs (WACD) to embark on a fact finding mission, which released an outstanding report in 2014 titled “Not Just in Transit: Drugs, The State and Society in West Africa” . This report brought to the fore front that illicit drugs are not just transiting through the region but are also being consumed and produced in West Africa. Therefore, a drug control effort that has majorly focused on cutting drug supply is not only inadequate but cannot solve the health, security and development challenges posed by drugs.

When advocates talk about evidence-based drug policy reform in Africa, what do they really mean?

Pride has become a time defined by love and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community (LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and the + is for everyone else who identifies in the community). For better or for worse, it has become a month long event with sporting and cultural bodies as well as small businesses and large, international corporations showing the rainbow flag and expressing their support for the LGBTQ+ community. The community has reached new heights of acceptance where being seen to be supportive of LGBTQ+ people is deemed to be profitable. This rainbow-tinted image of the community’s position in society is one that hides many of the problems our community still faces.

Aside from our community facing regular homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discrimination, we experience a range of other issues in a manner different to our cisgender and heterosexual peers. The link between the LGBTQ+ community and drug use is incredibly evident when spending any amount of time in LGBTQ+ spaces. This link is also there in non-LGBTQ+ spaces, just go to any pub on a Saturday night or even your local Garda station. Drug use is present in all sections of society and prohibition has failed to have any tangible impact on drug use and addiction.

LGBTQ+ spaces are overwhelmingly places that are traditionally associated with alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. Gay bars and clubs were the original safe havens for our community and remain a place where LGBTQ+ people can come together and embrace their identity without having to fear the judgmental gaze of wider society. These spaces have changed and developed over time to what we see today in many city centres around the world. As time has gone on new spaces have been forged, notably with the more recent rise of Chemsex within the MSM (Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men) community specifically.

Drug use and the LGBTQ+ community - Taking pride in harm reduction

As the United States and the world reel from COVID-19, another epidemic, opioid addiction, continues to ravage the U.S. The opioid epidemic has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, generated vast national economic and social costs, and exposed the critical weaknesses and limitations of U.S. drug policy.

To harness the lessons learned and provide policymakers with a wide range of policy options and recommendations, experts from Brookings and beyond have undertaken a multidisciplinary effort — in the forthcoming series “The opioid crisis in America: Domestic and international dimensions” — to develop new insights and best practices for policy stakeholders working at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as members of the public who are on the front lines of the opioid crisis. The project has analyzed and assessed a broad range of the opioid epidemic dimensions.

, in the first of two webinars, the Brookings Institution will release the project’s findings on prevention, treatment, and regulation of the opioid crisis. Brookings President John R. Allen will introduce the project and event. Representative David Trone, D-M.D., will provide keynote remarks and join Brookings Senior Fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown in a conversation. Subsequently, NPR correspondent Brian Mann will moderate a panel of experts from the Brookings Opioid Project: Carol Graham, Jonathan Caulkins, Beau Kilmer, and Rosalie Liccardo Pacula. The panel will then take questions from the audience.

Drug prevention