The article “The use and impact of European Testing Week regional awareness campaigns to increase HIV and viral hepatitis testing coverage” has recently been published in the journal HIV Medicine. Based on insights from the special survey among previous European Testing Week participants, it assesses the impact of the campaign.
The Autumn European Testing Week takes place on 20-27 November 2023.
Join the partner organisations – community, healthcare and policy institutions – in increasing access to testing and promoting awareness on the benefits of earlier hepatitis and HIV testing!
The Mayor of Amsterdam and Mark Vermeulen, the director of Aidsfonds – Soa Aids Nederland have just shared at the Fast-Track Cities 2023 conference* that Amsterdam had only 9 new HIV acquisitions last year and highlighted the importance of access to PrEP, trans-led services & sex worker community engagement.
The new website of BOOST, a project supporting community-based & community-led organisations in providing communicable diseases services, is now available online!
BOOST enhances the implementation of harm reduction interventions by supporting community-based and community-led services that work to counteract the prevalence of communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis.
Those interested can read about BOOST, its aims and activities on the new web platform. In later project phases, the resources produced throughout the project activities will also be published here, including an up-to-date overview of the quality of testing and linkage to care services offered by harm reduction organisations in the EU and selected neighbouring countries, good practice examples, webinars and training materials.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
When it comes to addressing drug consumption and its associated risks, the stigma surrounding people who use drugs negatively impacts their access to support and health services. When stigmatised, people feel discouraged from seeking the care they need due to feeling judged and degraded.
Harm reduction services approach drug use in all its complexity, upholding the rights of people who use drugs while searching for evidence-informed strategies of care and support. Harm Reduction aims to empower and support people who use drugs in regaining agency and leadership, contributing to their meaningful participation in reducing the potential harm of their drug use. Among others, examples of strategies to reduce stigma and improve access to treatment and support services include advocating for and contributing to the decriminalisation of drug use or the implementation of alternatives to incarceration.
For the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, we have collected some updates from the harm reduction field touching on addressing stigma.
→ 2023 #SupportDontPunish Global Day of Action
June 26th marks the 11th #SupportDontPunish Global Day of Action. The Support. Don’t Punish. Campaign unites initiatives working towards sustainable alternatives to the ‘war on drugs’ and supporting strategies to drug- and drug-policy-related challenges that are based on solidarity and the rights of the communities they represent. The campaign aims to connect and visibilise these local efforts as part of a global movement.
Find out more here.
→ Recommendations for tackling stigma and discrimination – joint statement by the EUHPP Thematic Network
The European Health Policy Platform Thematic Network on HIV, TB, viral hepatitis, and STIs, led in collaboration with the EU Civil Society Forum, is working to involve non-governmental organizations in policy development, implementation, and sharing of information. They released a joint statement in June that has been supported by 40 European organizations.
The statement points out the gaps in addressing the needs of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis in the EU. It also provides recommendations to tackle the stigma and discrimination faced by key populations, including people who use drugs.
You can read the statement here.
→ Statement from UN experts addresses stigma and discrimination and calls for people-centred alternatives to the ‘war on drugs’
A recent statement by United Nations experts underscores the detrimental effects of stigmatization and urges the exploration of alternative approaches to address the global challenge of drug-related issues. The experts advocate for a comprehensive and restorative justice framework, alongside inclusive and community-based measures. By challenging the paradigm of the ‘war on drugs,’ they emphasize the importance of adopting a more compassionate and efficient response. For further insights, you can access their statement here.
→ New toolbox to initiate harm reduction in prisons will be available by October
A toolbox to give guidance on the application of harm reduction approaches in prisons is under development. The toolkit, developed by C-EHRN in consultation with relevant stakeholders and experts, will be launched in October and presented at the C-EHRN Member and Expert Meeting in Budapest in December.
→ Civil society involvement in Finland, Ireland, Hungary and Greece – What stage are we at?
In 2023, C-EHRN and the Rights Reporter Foundation will conduct a study to assess the level and quality of civil society involvement in four EU countries, Finland, Ireland, Hungary and Greece. The case studies will reflect on the application of quality standards based on the Quality Standards for Civil Society Involvement in Drug Policy, developed in 2021 as part of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) Project. The study will also address how CSO are involved in the implementation of drug policies in each country.
The Central and Eastern European Summit 2023 on Hepatitis C, HIV and other infections – screening, linkage to care and treatment took place in Prague on the 15-16th of June and gathered over 200 participants from Czechia and Central and Eastern Europe. The aim was to facilitate knowledge exchange, share good practices and improve care for hard-to-reach communities, particularly people who use drugs.
In Thessaloniki, Greece, ALEXANDROS, a community-based program targeting people who inject drugs helped identify a new outbreak of HIV infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. An article with an analysis of the outbreak has been recently published in the International Journal of Drug Policy and can be accessed here.
The analysis showed that homelessness and syringe sharing were risk factors in HIV acquisition and underlined the importance of peer-driven initiatives in the improvement of the access of people who inject drugs to HIV care.
The case of Thessaloniki might serve as a relevant good practice example for other contexts.
The EU Health Policy Platform Annual Meeting took place on the 19th of April. The event was a hybrid conference with nearly 300 participants in Luxembourg and online. The first part of the event was dedicated to showcasing the Joint Statements prepared by the 2022 Thematic Networks, which culminate several months of exchange and research, each in a particular area of public health.
During the event, the Coordination Team of CSF on HIV/AIDS, VH & TB presented its Joint Statement, which explores outstanding challenges and good practices specific to dealing with these conditions. Special attention was brought to the importance of nurturing collaboration among stakeholders to ensure continuity of prevention, treatment and care and better quality of life for all people living with or most affected by HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis (especially drug-resistant) and sexually transmitted infections, including an adapted response for displaced and mobile people and other migrant populations. The statement also highlights how HIV, viral hepatitis (VH) and STIs are increasingly becoming concentrated in key and vulnerable populations and provides recommendations on how to overcome the stigma and discrimination against these key populations that are often at the intersection of multiple axes of marginalisation.
Additionally, three other Joint statements were presented:
You can find the statements and presentations here.
Since its creation in 2005, the EU Civil Society Forum on HIV/AIDS (hereafter CSF) and since 2017,
the EU CSF on HIV/AIDS, TB and viral hepatitis has been instrumental in providing and sharing critical
information and evidence, in undertaking joint actions, and creating synergies between its members.
The report contains current standards of care, challenges in implementation, good practice examples of implementation, and cross-border healthcare.
