“Harm reduction refers to policies, programmes and practices that aim to minimise negative health, social and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies and drug laws.”
– Harm Reduction International
Benefits
Reduces the spread of HIV, Hepatitis C and other blood-borne viruses through needle and syringe programmes.
Reduces dependency through opioid substitution programmes.
Reduces social and economic impact of drug use on individuals and communities.
Reduces stigmas, prison populations and the need for law enforcement resources through decriminalisation.
Life saving potential
65
overdose death reduction
Naloxone can be used to treat opioid drug overdoses, with a survival rate of 83-100%. A case study of Dayton, Ohio, showed a 65% reduction in overdose deaths between 2017 and 2018 following the introduction of naloxone, (UNAIDS).
Research shows that syringe exchange programmes have been very effective in reducing HIV transmission, (Harm Reduction Journal).
DHR policies in practice
Around the world, countries have successfully embraced various DHR policies to reduce the risks associated with drugs. Throughout North America, there have been several programmes and policies that incorporate harm reduction, such as supervised injection facilities (SIF) and needle syringe programmes (NSP), in public health policies.
In Canada, Vancouver’s supervised injection facility, Insite, has had over 200,000 visits per year. As of 2016, it was one of the most significant examples of harm reduction in North America.
Informal evaluations of naloxone provision by NSP clients in the U.S suggest that injecting drug users, and their families, can be trained in the use of this medication. Naloxone can cut the chances of fatal respiratory arrest caused by opioid overdose.
In South America, Brazil and Argentina have been leaders in the field of DHR.
- Argentina has piloted Therapeutic Community models in their non-governmental rehabilitation centres
- In Buenos Aires and Rosario, distribution of sterile injections began in 1999.
