Hepatitis C and Drug Use Monitoring Webinar Recording

On behalf of C-EHRN and all the individuals and organisations that made the Monitoring Data Report 2021 possible, we are excited to share the webinar recording with you, it can be viewed through the link below;
 
 
https://youtu.be/2kpziFcnnu4
 
 
We would like to express special thanks to Rafaela Rigoni [C-EHRN] for moderating the webinar, and to the fantastic panelists; Tukka Tammi [THL], Mojca Maticic [professor at University Medical Centre Ljubljana and EASL member], Tessa Windelinckx [Free Clinic and C-EHRN FP] and Martin Kåberg [Stockholm Center for Dependency Disorders and Stockholm NSPs].
 
The full monitoring report can be accessed through the link below:
 https://www.correlation-net.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/MONITORING-OF-HARM-REDUCTION-IN-EUROPE-2021_web.pdf
 
 
The next webinar in this series is on the State and Challenges of Overdose Prevention, and will take place on 13th July at 16:00PM (CET). Register through the link below;
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SJf50wxNSf2uYAaHOFHbvw
 
 
Again, we would like to thank everyone involved in the process of this monitoring report, and everyone who took part in the webinar.
 
 
We hope to see you again at our future events, if you have any questions regarding the webinar, please feel free to contact monitoring@correlation-net.org

Online Webinars 2022

Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network is excited to invite you to the online webinar series of its Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe in 2021. In the coming months, we would like to invite you to join us in discussing the main key findings of our Data Report 2021 in a series of dialogues with harm reduction professionals, policymakers, researchers and European agencies, among others:

Webinar 01 | Launch Monitoring Report 2021
11th of May 16:00h – 16:45h

Webinar 02 | Hepatitis C & Drug Use
15th of June 16:00h – 17:00h

Webinar 03 | State & Challenges of Overdose Prevention 
13th of July 16:00h – 17:00h

Webinar 04 | COVID-19 Impacts on Harm Reduction
14th of September 16:00h – 17:00h

Webinar 05 | Monitoring New Drugs Trends
12th of October 16:00h – 17:00h

Monitoring Data Report 2021

 

The main aim and purpose of C-EHRN monitoring activities is to improve knowledge and information and complement existing data and monitoring efforts in Europe in specific areas of harm reduction based on the perspective of civil society organisations (CSOs). The data collected helps us to assess the implementation of certain drug and health policies at the national and local levels and supports our advocacy efforts at the European and EU Member State levels.

The adapted 2021 civil society monitoring incorporated the experiences from the past years. During evaluation meetings with our expert groups, it was decided to keep most of the questionnaires in 2020 intact for 2021. That was done both because the questionnaire of 2020 has worked reasonably well and also to allow for comparisons between 2021 and the previous year.

We kept our focus on the situation at the city level which allowed for more accurate and precise information. Consequently, the information provided in this report sometimes represents the situation in a particular city or region. Although this information is not representative of a country, it reflects the fact that the situation in a country is diverse and most often dependent upon the approach at the city level. Small modifications were made for clarity in the sections on essential harm reduction services, overdose prevention, Hepatitis C, civil society involvement and new drug trends. More modifications were made in the COVID-19 section to cover a new phase of the pandemic.

In addition to the survey, and on an experimental basis, the expert groups decided to try new forms of data collection. In 2 countries – Finland and the UK – online Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) will be performed to gather data on new drug trends. That was decided due to the low response rate in the online survey and also due to feedback from our Focal Points that this remains the most difficult section of the survey to complete.

More than one hundred organisations and individuals from 34 European countries have contributed to this Monitoring Report. Thanks go to our Focal Points and associated experts at the national and local levels who have filled in the online questionnaire and provided all information and data on time. Without their dedication and commitment, we would not have been able to produce this report.

Online Launch Data Report 2021

On the 1tth of May 2022, Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network launched its Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe in 2021.

With the contributions of more than one hundred organizations and individuals from 34 European countries, the development and implementation of the Civil Society Monitoring Tool for Harm Reduction are one of the most important achievements of C-EHRN in recent years. The main aim of C-EHRN monitoring activities is to improve knowledge and information and complement existing data and monitoring efforts in Europe in specific areas of harm reduction based on the perspective of civil society organisations. As such, C-EHRN’s monitoring activities acknowledge the important function of civil society and harm reduction services and foster their expert role in national and European drug policy.

During this webinar, C-EHRN launched the Data Report 2021, presented its key findings and discussed them with representatives from different European organizations and institutions.

Webinar | Crisis of Harm Reduction Funding

Crisis in Harm Reduction Funding. Opportunities for Governments to act in South-Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network, the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association and the Drug Policy Network of South-Eastern Europe are hosting an online discussion about the funding challenges and opportunities for governments to the crisis of harm reduction services in SEE countries and the Balkans.

The webinar will take place on the 20th of April from 13:00h to 14:30h CET

Countries of South-Eastern Europe and the Balkans, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, are experiencing relatively high levels of HIV and HVC infection among people who inject drugs, including those who inject psychoactive substances. However, due to limited domestic resources and the gradual withdrawal of the Global Fund from the region, the governments of these countries are facing a lack of resources to continue the long-term funding of comprehensive harm reduction programmes. In addition to these and other barriers, in some countries, there is no legal basis for NGOs to provide services to marginalized populations, including people who use drugs.

During this webinar, C-EHRN, EHRA and DPNSE will present the research they have conducted in the area and discuss its key findings, which include among others:

Common challenges of scaling-up harm reduction programmes in the countries of South-Eastern Europe.

Consequences of the limited funding of the harm reduction services for public health and national healthcare systems.

Opportunities available for the governments of the region to act and invest funds and efforts in effective and proven models of harm reduction in their respective countries.

 

To register, please fill in the form here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-4Dh14MmQumJc3mPJxZgOw

In the meantime, you may access the report here.

HCV Testing Starter Kit – HCV Testing in the Community by the Community

Community-based testing refers to an approach by which targeted testing services are implemented in community settings so that they can be accessed, and used, by affected and marginalised people who may be unable, or reluctant, to access such services at public health facilities, such as at major hospitals. Community settings can include one or more of the following: fixed venues; mobile testing

units; outreach sites; through home visits; and also through community-based organisations such as buildings used for religious practices, such as churches and mosques; parks; homeless shelters; needle and syringe programmes; educational environments; and workplaces, amongst others.

This HCV Community Testing Starter Kit is designed to assist services for, and by people who use drugs and their peers to implement quality HCV testing services. It was developed with support of experts from cummunity based organisations of people who
use drugs:

Brugernes Akademi, Copenhagen
Caso (Consumers Associated Survive Organized) Porto
Stockholm Drug User Union
ProLAR Nett, Oslo

The harmreduction organisations

Fixpunkt e.V., Berlin
Free Clinic, Antwerp
EuroNPUD (European Network of People Who Use Drugs)

provided critical feedback.

Go to HCV Testing Starter Kit website
Read HCV Testing Starter Kit pdf

Press Release by Coalition PLus and EuroTest Initiative | #COVID19 Diaries: The sharp, critical decline in testing

The Press Release from Coalition Plus and the EuroTEST initiative titled “HIV, viral hepatitis, and STIs: Let’s make up for lost time against the epidemics!” was shared on the last day of the European Testing Week 28th November 2021.

The press release points out the sharp and critical decline in testing for HIV, hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) among the most vulnerable populations, led by the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistics are alarming and worrying. 

According to a study conducted in 44 countries, there was a 35% drop in HIV screenings between 2019 and 2020 among key populations. The number is even higher among sex workers, who were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 59%.

Ben Collins, the chair of European Testing Week, says that with all the great effective treatments at hand, there is every good reason for anyone at risk for HIV, viral hepatitis, or STIs to get tested this week or any week of the year.

“If we are to reach the global goals set for 2030, it is paramount to remove legal and regulatory obstacles to the provision of services at the community level, which is a crucial step in effectively reaching the unreachable.” concludes the Press Release.

The International and European Testing Week initiative focuses on increasing access to testing and raising awareness about the importance of early testing. The next testing week will be in the spring of 2022. Follow the updates and be on time in supporting their efforts.

URGENT SUPPORT NEEDED! – Romanian Hospitals Lack Anti-Retroviral Medicines

Urgent Request for Support | For far too long, vital medicines for the health of people living with HIV have been missing from Romanian hospitals.  The Ministry of Health has finally promised a solution to this situation by the end of October; in the meantime, patients are forced to seek support from NGOs and the international community.

As a result of a lack of funds allocated to HIV medication by the Ministry of Health, and a budget rectification postponed for too long, hospitals have been unable to purchase vital medication. Since August, several hospitals in Romania have faced a lack, or complete absence, of HIV medication. In Bucharest, two of the largest hospitals have been forced to give anti-retroviral treatment (ART) medication for only a week, instead of a month, due to low stocks. Other hospitals in the country are also completely out of drugs, and this has an extremely negative impact on those living with HIV.

 


Hospitals marked in red have been reported by patients living with HIV has having shortages of ART drugs.
Those in yellow have been reported at least once. Source: Tratament ARV, 22nd  of September, 2021.

On 13 August, 2021, members of the LGBTQI community, as well as organizations in the field of drug use and HIV/AIDS, participated in a protest in front of the Ministry of Health. After an ad-hoc meeting, the Health Minister, Ioana Mihaila, compromised by adopting a Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS by the end of October.

Despite these promises, the community of people living with HIV in Romania is experiencing an urgent need of support. The current situation endangers the lives of people living with HIV. ART drugs keep people alive and well. Those who start drug treatment, however, have to stay on the drugs; if they don’t, the virus in their body evolves into a drug-resistant strain, putting them at further risk of not being able to use their personalized treatment scheme. As a result, patients must be re-evaluated, other (and often more expensive) drugs may be necessary, and they face the additional risk of their bodies not accepting the new treatment.

Contrary to the trend across Europe, Romania, particularly its capital, Bucharest, has seen a drastic increase in HIV infection rates in the last decade.  This is fuelled by the use of synthetic drugs and the lack of adequate harm reduction services.

 

Absence of drugs, an endemic situation in Romania
This is not a new situation; limited access to treatment, reduced stocks or absence of medicines is a recurrent problem for people living with HIV in Romania.  In the absence of a national program that can cover the costs of HIV treatment throughout the year, the authorities offer improvised solutions, and hospitals have become accustomed to borrowing drugs from each other when they are gone. Tratament ART, the national platform for monitoring access of people living with HIV in Romania to medicines, has been reporting on similar cases in hospitals for some time. Alongside this, the EU HIV/HCV/TB Civil Society Forum and different local NGOs have been urging the Romanian government for more than a decade to take steps to ensure sufficient drug supply.

Support for the community left without medication
Ana Mohr, representative of MozaiQ, points out that the LGTBQI community is among the hardest affected, and that people living with HIV are facing a more pressing situation by the day.  Within this context, national and international NGOs in Romania are urgently collecting medicines from international donations, other NGOs, doctors, and activists from all over Europe.

Currently, there is a high need for the following drugs: Lamivudine/ Abracavir (Kivexa), Tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada), Reyataz, Genvoya, Dovato, Tivicay, Triumeq, Lamivudine/emtricitabine, Lamivudine/zidovudine (Combivir), Dolutegravir, Efavirenz

If you, your colleagues or contacts, have access to one or more of the above drugs and can share them, MozaiQ will be very grateful.  You can send them to their office for further distribution.

More information:
https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/de-ce-au-ramas-spitalele-din-romania-cu-un-stoc-redus-de-medicamente-pentru-pacienii-hiv-3732218
https://romania.europalibera.org/a/romania-hiv-lipsa-medicamente/31444527.html

Contact:
mozaiqlgbt@gmail.com

 

#HepatitisCantWait … neither should we

Today is World Hepatitis Day, #WHD21. Every year on 28th July, civil society organisations, among many others, call on people from across the world to take action and raise awareness of hepatitis. This year’s campaign is another valid point, also acclaimed by WHO: #HepatitisCantWait.

With a person dying every 30 seconds from a hepatitis-related illness, people affected by hepatitis cannot wait to end stigma and discrimination especially now that the current #COVID19 crisis negatively affected hepatitis testing and treatment, leaving many more people unaware and unassisted.
How can health inclusion be exempt from agendas, one wonders?

According to our Monitoring Report 2020, persistent stigmatisation and restrictive policies towards drug use are some of the roughest feeders of deprived, vulnerable communities.
How can countries wait for further harmful facts whilst an inclusive continuum of health care guarantees stronger and more equal societies? 

National guidelines for HCV testing and treatment must include people who use drugs (PWUD) as well as people who inject drugs (PWID) and must allow for low threshold and community-based care to positively impact a #HepFreeFuture states the Monitoring Report 2020 Executive Summary.
How can governments wait to trigger more inclusive health regulations?

Our 2019 briefing paper “HCV in People Who Use Drugs: results from civil society monitoring in Europe” concluded that the main barriers to address HCV among PWID include a lack of funding, knowledge, awareness, dedicated health workers, political support in general, as well as weakness of CSOs and legal barriers.
How can the hands of European Health NGOs’ be tied with existential struggles; shouting #BringBackOperatingGrants whilst #EU4HealthNGOs is the obvious path to take?

The ongoing pandemic has proven all healthcare gaps to remain resolutely in place. If we are to #EliminateHepatitis by 2030, we urgently need to focus on community-led and community-based preventions, #HealthInclusion, testing and treatment.

Let us work collectively for a future where hepatitis was a joke of the past.
Visit worldhepatitisday.org and see how you can get involved for such a future.
Because #HepatitisCantWait, neither should we.

A Feasibility Study to Increase Chronic Hepatitis C Virus RNA Testing and Linkage to Care among Clients Attending Homeless Services in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

People who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and are frequently homeless. To improve HCV case finding in these individuals, the authors examined the feasibility of rapid HCV RNA testing in homeless services in Amsterdam. In 2020, they provided a comprehensive service to homeless facilities, including workshops on HCV for personnel, a “hepatitis ambassador” at each facility, a rapid, onsite HCV RNA fingerstick test service, and assistance with linkage to care.

One of the authors’ points is that screening in homeless services with rapid testing is feasible and could improve HCV case finding for PWID who do not regularly attend primary care or other harm reduction services for people who use drugs.

The study was published at Diagnostics, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal on medical diagnosis published monthly online by MDPI.

Read the study here