Each year, the UNODC reports an estimated half a million drug-related deaths – deaths that could be prevented with well-funded harm reduction services and an enabling political and legislative environment that provides care and support for people who use drugs, instead of punishment. This side event was organised by the International Drug Policy Consortium.

The lucrative and unregulated market of semi-synthetic cannabinoids is rapidly expanding across Europe, raising public health concerns and posing a legislative challenge to policymakers. The solution lies not in prohibition but in regulation.

CORE – COmmunity REsponse to End Inequalities aims to reduce inequalities in the HIV, TB and viral hepatitis responses by promoting, strengthening and integrating community responses that have proven key in reaching communities that have been traditionally underserved by mainstream prevention and healthcare services. Watch the introduction video by Drugreporter!

An update about how access to harm reduction programs changed in European cities after the lockdown measures were lifted between the first and second waves of the COVID-19 epidemic. 

In June 2020, all harm reduction services with public funding stopped in Bulgaria for the second time in three (2017-2020) years. The oldest, biggest, and most experienced harm reduction organisation, Initiative for Health Foundation, shut down too. No needle and syringe programs remained open in the country. An article by Yuliya Georgieva.

On this info page Drugreporter provides regular updates about resources and news on how harm reduction service providers respond to the COVID-19 Epidemic.

The news came as a shock: all harm reduction programs were terminated this year in Bulgaria, an EU member state. Why? Yuliya Georgieva, a veteran Bulgarian harm reduction activist from the Centre for Humane Policy and the new co-chair of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, answered our questions.  

DU News, member of the Drugreporter video network visited last summer the harm reduction services of Sofia, Bulgaria and filmed its findings. Watch the video and learn more about what kind of problems can be caused by the lack of funding!

Sharing of injecting equipment by people who use drugs leads to infections, such as Hepatitis C or HIV. Discarded needles on the streets are not welcomed by people who live in the area. The solution does not lie in the hands of the police – arresting people who use drugs does not reduce the number of drug users, but pushes them to use in a more risky way, and to discard their needles as soon as possible. The old ways of fighting drug problems don’t work. This is a campaign to find new solutions – to provide room for change.

Размянята на консумативи за инжектиране сред хората, които използват наркотици, крие рискове от заравяване с кръвнопреносими инфекции, като хепатит С и ХИВ. На използваните игли и спринцовки, изхвърлени по улиците, се гледа с много лошо око от хората, живеещи в района. Разрешаването на този проблем не зависи от полицията. Арестите на хората, които употребяват наркотици, не намаляват броя на употребяващите, но ги принуждават да приемат по по-рискови начини и да изхвърлят инструментите си възможно най-бързо. Старите методи за борба с проблемите с наркотиците не работят. Тази кампания намира нов…