A new report (9 March) from the Dutch Harm Reduction Network (HRN) provides an update on harm reduction services in the Netherlands, based on an investigation conducted in 2021.

HRN monitors the state of affairs of HR services in the Netherlands, and provides regular updates. It is part of the department of Drugs at the Trimbos Institute and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS).

The report is the result of data collected through interviews with employees in different harm reduction services: drug consumption rooms (DCRs), opioid substitution treatment centres (OSTs), heroin-assisted treatment units (HATs) and needle and syringe exchange programmes (NSPs).

The aim of the report is to provide a brief overview of the current state of affairs of harm reduction (HR) services in the Netherlands and to present recent developments and future challenges.  The main topics of interest in the study were:

• The current state of affairs of HR services (e.g. provision of services, daily work practices,
  number and type of clients, capacity)
• Recent developments at the HR services (e.g. changes in target groups in the past 5 years)
• Challenges that HR services are facing in the (near) future

Read the report