Ukraine asked to scale up harm reduction programmes for drug users
29 May 2007
More than 400 government officials, academics and non-governmental organisations have called on Ukraine to scale up its harm reduction programmes for drug users. Meeting at the country’s second national harm reduction conference in March, they said that the scale up of substitution therapy among this high-risk group was an essential, if controversial, response to the epidemic in Ukraine.
Non-governmental organisations want substitution therapy to become more widely accessible within the state healthcare system. Currently it is available only from regional narcology dispensaries and a single AIDS centre. This will require launching substitution therapy programmes in state tuberculosis dispensaries and sexually transmitted infection clinics.
Over 110,000 injecting drug users in all of Ukraine’s regions already have access to prevention services, including needle and syringe exchange, counselling, information about risk reduction, HIV testing and referrals to other services. Drug users have been a key target group for by the Alliance as part of the Global Fund-supported programme Overcoming the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Ukraine. The Alliance is Principal Recipient of the Global Fund in the country.
Ukraine stepped up its financial and organisational commitment to harm reduction programmes during 2006. The equivalent of US$2 million of budget funds was granted to support harm reduction projects for injecting drug users, including financing for substitution therapy programmes.
Currently, 530 injecting drug users get buprenorphine-based substitution therapy. By the end of 2007, over 3,000 will be enrolled into large-scale methadone substitution therapy programmes.
Law enforcement bodies are also playing a crucial role in shaping a favourable legislative environment for launching national harm reduction programmes. Structured contacts with representatives of local law enforcement bodies were established during the first national harm reduction conference in 2006. Since then, a number of important amendments to the criminal code in defining liability for illegal possession of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances have been introduced.
Over 50 high-ranking representatives from local and national law enforcement bodies within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the Enforcement of Sentences and Security Service of Ukraine, were present at the conference in Kyiv. The Alliance is hoping that further moves will now be made towards decriminalising drug use – a response that will improve the effectiveness of HIV prevention programmes.
The conference was organised with technical and financial support from over 20 Ukrainian and international organisations and governmental bodies working on HIV.
