
Programme
Please download the programme here…
Registered participants can access all abstracts using the conference registration portal.
Organisation and Programme Committee
Dominique Schori / Infodrog
Marian Ursan / Carusel / University of Bucharest
René Akeret / Infodrog
Eberhard Schatz / Correlation Network
Katrin Schiffer / Correlation Network
Tuukka Tammi / THL
José Queiroz / Apdes
Alina Bocai, Aras
Peter Sarosi / Drugreporter
Ganna Dovbakh / EHRA
Programme Advisors
Tonny van Montfoort / EuroNPUD
Antonella Camposeragna / Forum Droghe
John-Peter Kools / Trimbos Institute
Maria Phelan / Robert Carr Funds
Samir Ibisevic / Proi
Dirk Schäffer / DAH
Cinzia Brentari / HRI
Tessa Windelinckx / Free Clinic
Wednesday 21.11.2018
8.00 – 9.30
Registration
09.30 – 11.00
Opening Session
Room: 1 – AULA
Chairs: Sini Pasanen and Eberhard Schatz
Welcome to the Conference
- Csaba Ferenc Asztalos, National Council for Combating Discrimination
- Sorin Oprea, Romanian Anti Drugs Agency, Romania
- Maria Georgescu, ARAS, Romania
- Erin O’Mara, EuroNPUD
- Wolfgang Phillipp, European Commission, DG Santé
Infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) – problem solved?
- Anastasia Pharris, ECDC/HA REACT
HR in Europe – here are the facts
- Dagmar Hedrich, EMCDDA
Prevention and harm reduction in nightlife settings: what happens in Europe today?
- Alexander Bücheli, Active Nightlife, Switzerland
11.00 – 11.45
Coffee Break
11.45 – 12.30
Panel discussion:
Harm Reduction future: sustainability and impact
Moderator: Ganna Dovbahk and Wolfgang Phillipp
- Naomi Burke-Shyne, HRI
- Katya Lukicheva, OSI
- Palani Narayanan, Global Fund
- Susanna Ronconi, Forum Droghe, Italy
- Marian Ursan, Carusel, Romania
12.30 – 12.45
Remembrance moment
- Erin O’Mara, EuroNPUD
- Marios Azemis, Positive Voice
´Chase the Virus , not the People´
- Ganna Dovbahk, EHRA
12.45 – 14.00
Lunch
14.00 – 15.30
Parallel session 1: Scaling Up Harm Reduction (HA REACT)
Chair: Luis Sordo
This session is co-organised by the European Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT). HA-REACT addresses existing gaps in the prevention of HIV and other co-infections, especially tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, among people who inject drugs (PWID). It is a joint effort of 23 organisations in 18 EU Member States, and focuses on those countries where there are obvious gaps in effective and evidence-informed harm reduction interventions, or where such interventions are not being implemented at a sufficient level. The session focuses on activities & strategies that have proved to work in scaling up harm reduction – and on barriers to that.
Scaling up harm reduction: what works, what doesn’t, and why?
- Luis Sordo, Universidad Complutense, Spain
HA-REACT impact on harm reduction service development in Lithuania
- Dovilė Mačiulytė, Centre for Addictive Disorders, Lithuania
Estimating the number of PWID and harm reduction service coverage: Case study on Lithuania
- Danica Thanki, ResAd, Czech Republic
Mobile unit service for PWID in Latvia
- Agnese Freimane, Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Latvia
Overcoming reluctance to Harm Reduction
- Débora Álvarez, CIBER, Spain
Parallel session 2: situation, challenges, needs in Romania
Chair: Maria Georgescu
This session aims to highlight the existing situation and challenges in Romania in regard to funding and the implementation of harm reduction (NSP and OST) services. Participants of the session will share experiences and discuss the way forward to overcome existing barriers in the access to services and to ensure appropriate coverage.
20 years of harm reduction in Romania
- Monica Dan, ARAS
Public-private partnership in harm reduction
- Cristiana Oprea, Clinical Hospital for Infectious and Tropical Diseases “Dr. Victor Babeș”
- Ioan Petre, GORE – Social Services Center, Carusel
The Global Fund exit plan and harm reduction sustainability in Romania
- Fidelie Kalambayi, Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation
10 years of opioid maintenance treatment by ARENA
- Adrian Abagiu, National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Romania
Parallel session 3: How to establish a DCR ?
Chair: Dominique Schori
The session will give an overview about the global state of art in regard to drug consumption rooms and address the challenges for implementation in different countries.
Global and European trends in the use of DCRs as a harm reduction measure
- Katie Stone, Harm Reduction International, United Kingdom
Drug consumption rooms: issues of social acceptability in French public debate
- Marie Jauffret-Roustide, Inserm, France
Drug Consumption Rooms save lifes – outcomes of a German research
- Dirk Schäffer, Deutsche Aids Hilfe, Germany
Implementation Drug Consumption Rooms in Lisbon
- Adriana Curado, GAT, Portugal
Parallel session 4: HCV from testing to cure
Chair: Astrid Leicht
Testing and treatment in harm reduction and community settings is the future when it comes to the elimination of HCV. The session will highlight different approaches to increase coverage and effectivness of the cascade of HCV care for people who use drugs.
Harm Reduction Challenge: public nuisance vs public health. o treat or not to treat …HCV in IDUs
- Adrian Abagiu, National Institute for Infectious Diseases, Romania
Peer Support Intervention for increasing effectiveness of Georgian HCV Elimination Program
- Konstantine Labartkava, New Vector, Georgia
HCV care cascade for drug users support in a OST program in Paris, France
- Elisabeth Avril, Gaia, France
Difficulties in taking HCV treatment by drug users
- Judyta Put, Monar, Poland
Parallel session 5: Harm reduction and aging drug user
Chair: Eberhard Schatz
The changing demographic structure has implications for many policy fields in European countries, e.g. education, housing, medical sector and nursing. The need for medical treatment and health care, outpatient care, specialised housing, and mobility will be a major financial burden for European countries and municipalities in the future. There is a need for alternative social reintegration policies and options to be developed for older drug users as well. This session will discuss the situation and needs of aging drug users including the implications for policies for this target group.
Older intravenous drug users in methadone treatment: Numbers, stories and lessons learned for harm reduction
- Felicia Heidebrecht, London Southbank University, UK
BETRAD (Better treatment for ageing drug users)
- Elena Adan, Agencia de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Spain
Older People with Drug Problems in Scotland: Addressing the Needs of an aging population
- David Liddell, Scottish Drug Forum, UK
Surviving a lifetime of prohibition – Perspectives from the older drug using community
- Erin O Mara, EuroNPUD, UK
15.30 – 16.00
Coffee Break
16.00 – 17.30
Parallel session 6: New substances, drug checking and the role of the internet
Chair: Alexander Bucheli
In this session we will explore the actual developments of harm reduction measures in the field of drug checking, new substances on the market and the role of internet. First presentation will give you an overview of the actual situation in Europe followed by detailed presentations of long established drug checking programs with a description of the latest trends and new markets.
Drug checking, a tool to explore and describe the latest trends on the drug market
- Xoan Carbon, Energy Control-ABD, Spain
TestDrugs: drug checking in Poland
- Wiktor Borzecki, Social Policy Initiative, Poland
25+ years drug checking in NL: identifying new drugs (NPS) and new markets (Clearnet/Darknet)
- Daan van der Gouwe, Trimbos Institute, The Netherlands
Crowd-data-gathering in New Psychoactive Substance harm reduction and monitoring
- Jan Stola, Youth Organisations for Drug Action, Poland
Parallel session 7: Bringing treatment to the community (HA REACT)
Chair: Alexandra Gurinova
“This session is co-organised by the European Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT). HA-REACT addresses existing gaps in the prevention of HIV and other co-infections, especially tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, among people who inject drugs (PWID). It is a joint effort of 23 organisations in 18 EU Member States, and focuses on those countries where there are obvious gaps in effective and evidence-informed harm reduction interventions, or where such interventions are not being implemented at a sufficient level.”
Gender approach in testing and other harm reduction interventions
- Alexandra Gurinova, Deutsche Aids Hilfe, Germany
- Olga Belyayeva, Eurasian Harm Reduction Asociation, Lithuania.
Integrated care for people who use drugs – challenges and recommendations
- Kristel Kivimets, TAI, Portugal
Responding to HIV and overdose epidemics in Estonia
- Aljona Kurbatova, National Institute for Health Development, Estonia
Drug policy change through the lens of OST treatment implementation in Lithuania
- Morgana Daniele, Youth Rise, UK
Parallel session 8: Workshop : HR digital, social media, media communication
Chair: Jose Queiroz and Peter Sarosi
Harm Reduction is striving for public recognition of society in general. One way to achieve this is through the media. How have community-based organizations used the media as tools to communicate the effectiveness and necessity of their intervention? This workshop seeks to understand the receptivity of traditional media (newspapers, radio, TV) in relation to HR interventions, as well as the strategies to be developed to include RR in the “news agenda”. At the same time, we want to discuss the new forms of social media activism (FB, Blogs, Video-Activism) to promote the political dimension of HR and give voice to the community of users across Europe. We invite activists and a publisher of a traditional newspaper to discuss RR in the media. Side by side: classicism with a new way of producing news. How can Harm Reduction gain with these two proposals of communicating the reality of people from the community? Are we witnessing a new trend of producing news, where the stories told by the activists replace the articles produced by the journalists? Can we consider social media as a powerful tool to fight stigma? Are we saying that the messages generated by the community are more convincing and closer to reality than those produced by traditional media?
Peter Sarosi, Rights Reporter Foundation, Hungary
Igor Kuzmenko and Aleksey Kurmanayevskiy, Ukraine
Amilcar Correia, Publico Newspaper Edito, Portugal
Juha Sedergren, Finland
Parallel session 9: Harm reduction and recovery
Chair: Janine Wildschut
The worlds of Harm Reduction and Recovery/ Rehabilitation often appears to be 2 separate hemispheres, which in fact should not be true. Harm Reduction and Recovery/ Rehabilitation (RnHR) are part of the same continuum of care for people who use drugs and Harm Reduction mindsets often appears to lead to more successful rehabilitation (with or without abstinence as a result). In this session we like to discuss different experiences, different types of country realities, models to successfully integrate harm reduction into rehabilitation and recovery services. Through vivid discussion with the audience we will try to sharpen our minds in the discussions this requires with state institutes.
The situation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the development of standards of Rehabilitation in Ukraine
- Anastasiya Shebardina, AFEW, Ukraine
The national drug strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina where RnHR are seen as compatible
- Samir Ibisevic, PROI, Bosnia and Herzegovina
You Can’t Recover if You’re Dead
- Daniel Ahmed, Foundations, UK
Summary and reflections
- Janine Wildschut, AFEW, Ukraine
Parallel session 10: Migrants & Drug Use
Chair: Dirk Schäffer
The session will inform about methods and challenges in the work with and for drug using migrants, by focusing on the specific needs of this community in regard of harm reduction and health services.
Drug prevention and harm reduction services for and with migrants in Germany (PaSuMi): A Community based participatory health project
- Diana Craciun, Deutsche Aids Hilfe, Germany
Refugees, migrants and the drug issue in Greece
- Marinela Kloka, Praksis, Greece
Refugees & migrants in Slovenia
- Janko Belin, Areal, Slovenia
Peer involvement of migrants and refugees to accelerate access to HCV/HIV/HBV information and testing combined with HBV vaccination in high risk settings
- Moro Yapha, Fixpunkt, Germany
17.30 – 18.30
Marketplace, poster presentations, reception

Thursday 22.11.2018
09.30 – 10.30
Plenary session: The need for integrated HR approaches
Room: AULA
Chairs: Katrin Schiffer and Rene Akeret
The link between homelessness, drug use and harm reduction
- Freek Spinnewijn, FEANTSA, Belgium
Linking sex work and harm reduction
- Luca Stevenson, International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, UK
Good practice example: an integrated social support and care approach in Amsterdam
- Walter Kamp, City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Lessons learned and new challenges in harm reduction policies: People who use drugs get older”
- Joan Colom Ferran, Health Ministry Catalunya, Spain
10.30 – 11.00
Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30
Parallel session 11: peer involvement and HR
Chairs: Jose Queiroz and Erin O’Mara
It is not new at all, but becomes increasingly important all over Europe. We talk about Peer Involvement in Harm Reduction. Active drug users start to raise their voice and to reclaim a more active inclusion in drug policy and practice. Outreach professionals working in the field of HR understand as well, that the involvement of active users is valuable and can amplify HR strategies and reach a larger group of people. This trend poses different challenges: the integration of peers in professionals teams (in relation to stigma and acceptance), the professionalisation of peers (from voluntary-based to regualr paid job), new ways and methods of working (the so-called “organic” approach). Finally, we must not forget the importance of services , which are delivered by peers. Are they effective? Do they make any sense? Is society prepared to deal with and accept this new frontier of community intervention? The session presents different experiences across Europe and shares good practice examples for meaningful peer involvement.
The Role of community organization in delivering complex services of Harm reduction
- Konstantine Labartkava, New Vector, Georgia
INPUD and meaningful involvement
- Valentin Simionov, INPUD, UK
The Serbian Raving behaving – importance of peer involvement in advocating and implementation of nightlife outreach/harm reduction programs
- Irena Molnar, NGO Re Generation, Serbia
Users Academy and HCV community testing
- Anja Plesner Bloch, User Academy, Denmark
Supporting the Supporters!
- Griet Maertens, Free Clinic, Belgium
Parallel session 12 : Transision and sustainable funding of harmreduction (OSF), part 1
Chair: Ekaterina Lukicheva
This session aims to increase the understanding of progress and key success factors that lead to sustainability of HR programs in countries transitioning from Global Fund’s support of HIV response to national funding including the role civil society and community representatives plays in these processes.
Participants will:
– Learn about the harm reduction financing changes and donor transition related processes taking place in SEE countries
– Better understand key facilitators and factors that lead to their programmatic and financial sustainability
– Learn from the experience of civil society and community representatives advocating for sustainability of HIV prevention services among key affected populations in their countries.
Advocating for the introduction of the funding mechanism allowing NGOs to receive governmental funding for HIV prevention among KAPs in Montenegro
- Ivana Vujovic, Juventas, Montenegro
Sustainability of harm reduction programs in Macedonia and perspectives for their integration into public health system
- Elizabeta Bozinoska, Program Director, HERA – Health Education and Research Association, Macedonia
Positive experience of HR programs‘ transition from GF support to national funding in Estonia
- Aljona Kurbatova, Head of the Infectious Diseases and Drug Abuse Prevention Department, National Institute for Health Development, Estonia
Ensuring the sustainability of services for KAPs within the transition from Global Fund‘s support to nation funding – key factors of success (remote video presentation)
- Gyongyver Jakab, Global Fund portfolio manager, Sustainability and Transition focal point for Balkan countries
Parallel session 13: Overdose prevention, naloxone
Chair: Dagmar Hedrich
The risks for overdoses for people who use opiates are still very high. In this session we present innovative programs in the field of overdose prevention with Naloxone from Germany, Denmark und Italy and discuss open challenges implementing such programs.
Take Home Naloxonein Italy
- Susanna Ronconi, Forum Droghe, Italy
The Naloxone-Take-Home Program Munich and the Bavarian Naloxone-pilot project
- Olaf Ostermann, Condrobs, Germany
From ampoules to readymade spray. Take-home nasal naloxone development in Denmark 2010-18
- Henrik Thiesen, SAVE LIFE naloxone project, Denmark
Naloxone saves lives – a hands-on toolkit for policy makers and practitioners on how to set up and run naloxone programmes for overdose prevention upon release from prison and other custodial settings
- Heino Stöver, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Parallel session 14: Social exclusion and control in the public space - the role of harm reduction services
Chair: Katrin Schiffer
This session will address the topic of marginalisation and social exclusion in the public space. The gentrification of neighbourhoods and the commercialisation of the public space has resulted in increasing protection, control and regulation of the public space. Many of these (repressive) interventions target marginalised groups, such as drug users and homeless people. Their presence in the public space is unwanted and perceived as threatening and disturbing.The different presentations in this session will highlight the negative impact of repressive interventions in this field, share alternative ideas for intervention and plead for a more balanced and inclusive approach.
The impact of harm reduction on social space
- Carlo Fabian, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland
Brave New World: the creation of clean cities by excluding the unwanted ones
- Roberto Perez Gayo, Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network, The Netherlands
Gentrification versus social inclusion – a social intervention at Görlitzer Park in Berlin
- Astrid Leicht, Fixpunkt, Germany
Parallel session 15: Inside DCR's: challenges and opportunities
Chairs: Cedric Chavet
Drug Consumption Rooms reduce harm and provide a safe enviroment for users. Innovative approaches can increase the impact and effectivness of DCR´s in the broader setting anfd provide additional support for users. The session will share examples from Denmark and France and discuss ways forward.
Drug Consumption Rooms in Copenhagen
- Rasmus Koberg Christiansen, Maendenes Hjem, Denmark
Drug tests in drug consumption room ´SKYEN´ in Copenhagen
- Ivan Christensen, Maendenes Hjem, Denmark
Management of drug users with psychiatric disorders in a drug consumption room: the perpetual question
- Céline Debaulieu, Gaia, France
Sharing drugs – rerstrictions and the way forward
- Elisabeth Avril, Gaia, France
Towards a “test and cure” strategy for drug users (DU) in a French drug consumption room (DCR)
- Fiorant Di Nino and Flavie Oster, ITHAQUE, France
12.30 – 14.00
Lunch
14.00 – 15.30
Parallel session 16: Harm Reduction in prison (HA-REACT)
Chair: Heino Stöver
“This session is co-organised by the European Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT). HA-REACT addresses existing gaps in the prevention of HIV and other co-infections, especially tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, among people who inject drugs (PWID). It is a joint effort of 23 organisations in 18 EU Member States, and focuses on those countries where there are obvious gaps in effective and evidence-informed harm reduction interventions, or where such interventions are not being implemented at a sufficient level. The session focuses on activities & strategies that have proved to work in increasing harm reduction services in prisons and in improving continuity of care for PWID in prison settings.
The state of harm reduction in European prisons
- Heino Stöver, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Best practice model in Luxembourg prisons
- Patrick Hoffmann, Health Directorate Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Best Practice Model of Condom Distribution in the Czech Prison
- Viktor Mravčík, National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, Czech Republic
Scaling up harm reduction in Polish prisons
- Piotr Wysocki, National AIDS Centre, Poland
HIV prevention and harm reduction expansion in French prison settings:
- Marie Jauffret-Roustide, Inserm, France
Parallel session 17: How to leverage EU membership and accession for increasing sustainability and quality of harm reduction services at country level (OSI part 2).
Chair: Raminta Stuikyte
This sesison will discuss the challenges, lessons learnt and possible opportunities for NGOs in those EU member counties which lack of the political will to ensure the sustainability of harm reduction services at the expense of the state budget
Participants will:
- Learn more about the political, technical, funding opportunities and instruments available for NGO in EU member and accession countries which could help to improve the sustainability of HR services they provide
- Get an opportunity to discuss their situations, share their concerns and learn from each other’s experiences of advocating for the increase of the governmental funding for HR services
Championing the response: Financing harm reduction within Europe and beyond
- Naomi Burke-Shyne, Executive Director, Harm Reduction International, UK
Sustainability of harm reduction services in Bulgaria: current situation and future perspectives
- Yuliya Georgieva, Chair, Center for Humane Policy, Bulgaria
How to ensure the sustainability of harm reduction services in the challenging political and financial environment
- Nicoleta Dascalu, Project manager, ARAS, Romania
Working with the government to ensure the sustainability of funding for HR services
- Jiri Richter, Executive director, SANANIM, Czech Republic
How can the European Union contribute to responsible transition from donor support to domestic financing in EU accession countries?
- Henning Mikkelsen, Independent Consultant
Parallel session 18: Addressing the diversity of sex workers in the context of harm reduction
Chair: Luca Stevenson
The session will present on the intersecting needs of sex workers in Europe including female and male, cis and trans, drug using and migrant sex workers. Furthermore we will explore the issues faced by sex workers at local and European level and discuss the benefits and sometimes limitations of a harm reduction approach. The session will include presentations from different speakers but is above all interactive and aims to stimulate questions and discussion
Supporting sex workers in their diversity and beyond ‘sexual health’: meaningful involvement and advocacy for legal reform
- Luca Stevenson, ICRSE, The Netherlands
Harm reduction works also among migrant sex workers
- Jaana Kauppinen, Pro Tukipiste, Finland
- Almuth Waldenberger, TAMPEP, Austria
The connection between sex work and the use of drugs
- Nebojša Đurasović, Prevent, Serbia
Female sex workers. Social networks and access to public services – exploratory research, 2017
- Ana Mohr, RHRN, Romania
Male and transgender sex workers in Antwerp, Belgium: a harm reduction approach
- Jasper Kerremans, Boysproject, Belgium
Parallel session 19: Monitoring Harm Reduction (Correlation)
Chair: Tuukka Tammi
Monitoring in the field of harm reduction is important and should include as wll the knowledge, experience and perspective of civil society organisations, NG0’s and forntline service providers. They can indicate new trends, provide information from the field and the development of policy and practice. Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network will set up a monitoring tool in all European countries, by particular addressing HCV, Overdose Prevention and new drug trends. This session will present a more detailed overview of this monitoring tool, explain the set up and scope of the tool and discuss with Correlation Focal Points and other interested participants the further development and implementation of the tool.
Monitoring harm reduction on European level
- Dagmar Hedrich, EMCDDA, Lisbon
Monitoring harm reduction from the viewpoint of civil society
- Tuukka Tammi, THL, Finland
Implementation of monitoring trends in harm reduction
- Katrin Schiffer, Eberhard Schatz, Correlation Network, The Netherlands
Parallel session 20: Network session EuroNPUD and ENPUD
Chair: Matt Southwell
The European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD) and the Eurasian Network of People who
Use Drugs (ENPUD) will share their parallel experiences of mobilising people who use drugs at the country
and regional level in response to the health and rights challenges faced by PWUD across Europe. The
speakers will consider key aspects of drug user organising – advocacy and partnership working, campaigning
and communications, and drug user group development and network strengthening from
the East and West. This will provide different perspectives on the role of drug user organising in different
country and regional contexts. The session will include time for professional and peer participants to
share their experiences of community mobilisation and the meaningful participation of PWUD.
15.30 – 16.00
Coffee Break
16.00 – 17.30
Parallel session 21: International Developments and the role of HR
Chair: John Peter Kools
In this session the global situation on drug trends and policies will be explored.
While many challenges exist in European harm reduction policies and services, the global challenges are even bigger. From the record harvest in Afghanistan and Columbia, ongoing development of new synthetic drugs to the Fentanyl and overdose crises in North America, many regions in the world fase increasing increased substance use and, in many cases, it’s related risks and harms. At the same time many countries are struggling with their responses and drug control policies, with brave examples of decriminalisation measures and opening of drug consumption rooms on the one hand, and harsh penalties and extrajudicial executions on the other side of the spectrum. In the session various presenters will present on various aspects of the global situation and will discuss the implications of the current developments for governments, agencies and communities in European countries.
The Civil Society Task Force on Drugs (CSTF): Getting Our Voices Heard Within the United Nation
- Jamie Bridge, International Drug Policy Consortium, UK
Findings from the Global State of Harm Reduction 2018: A Focus on Western Europe
- Sam Shirley-Beavan, Harm Reduction International, UK
WHO/UNODC International Standards of Treatment of Drug Use Disorders and its implementation in Central Asia on the basis of the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP)
- Ingo Michels, Frankfurt University of Applied Science, Germany
Civil Society Involvement in Drug Policy in Europe
- Peter Sarosi, Drugreporter
Parallel session 22: The lack of answers: increasing ATS consumption
Chair: Rene Akeret
In recent years and in different parts of the world, the use of stimulants has been on the increase. However, people who use stimulants – and especially those who do not inject – have limited access to harm reduction and other services. In this session we will present an overview of the global trends, explore valuable conclusions, lessons learnt and practical advice to strengthen the harm reduction response towards stimulant use.
Emerging stimulant use: a summary of global trends and the harm reduction response
- Katie Stone, Harm Reduction International, UK
Lessons from a global literature review and seven good practice case studies of Harm Reduction for People Who Use Stimulants
- Sara Woods, Mainline, The Netherlands
From opiates to methamphetamine: good practices and challenges of building new harm reduction responses
- Rafaela Rigoni, Correlation European Harm Reduction Network, The Netherlands
Slow down, you move too fast
- Shaun Shelly, University of Pretoria, Department of Family Medicine TBHIV Care NPO, South Africa
Parallel session 23: Safe Use interventions - the Eurosider method
Chair: Carine Magen
IAccess to needle syringe programs (NSP) and to opioid substitution treatment (OST) is an effective intrevention to reduce unsafe HIV/HCV transmission practices and seroconversion in people who inject drugs (PWID). However, in certain contexts, this access is limited or inadequate, leading to many drug injection-related complications (e.g. HIV and HCV infections, abscesses, cellulitis and other skin infections).The individually-tailored support and education for safer injection (ITSESI) intervention consists in offering educational supervision of the different injection phases, from pre- to post-injection and in providing tailored education for each risky act, prevention messages related to HIV/HCV transmission and information about access to screening and care for HIV and HCV.The session will present methods and preliminary outcomes of the method, implemented in France and currently in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Portugal in the framework of the EU funded EUROSIDER project.
EUROSIDER – experiences from Greece, Portugal and Romania
- Carine Magen, Inserm, France
- Mihai Lixandru, Aras, Romania
- Adriana Curado, GAT, Portugal
- Tania Tsiakou, Praksis, Greece
Parallel session 24: Workshop : CHEMSEX
Moderator: Ben Collins
This workshop will focus on the added value of harm reduction interventions, by focusing in particular on problematic drug use. The session will look at interventions that have proven to be effective in reaching this group and also address the ones, which have not. This will increase the knowledge and expertise of the participants. The workshop will start with an analysis of complex factors that are linked to chemsex and will then explore and evaluate harm reduction strategies and interventions that have worked for this specific target group. This includes for example chemsex meetings, accessible information material, topic-specific websites, online interventions etc.
Workshop participants will be challengd to think about what kind of support and (integrated) treatment (ex)users need and how to approach them without being prejudiced.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to understand/explain the difference between problematic and non-problematic chemsex and understand the need for integrated care and its practical application.
A workshop on problematic chemsex: From signals to harm reduction interventions”
- Fred Bladou
- Ben Collins
- Leon Knoops
- Sjef Pelsser
Parallel session 25: Building expert groups for HCV, OD and New Drug Trends
Chairs: Katrin Schiffer and Eberhard Schatz
Correlation Network currently establishes expert groups focusing on HCV, Overdose Prevention and New Drug Trends. These expert groups will support the activities of the network in regard to monitoring (see session 18), capacity building and advocacy. The session will provide information on the work plan and the methodology of the expert groups. If you are interested to join one of the three expert groups, you should attend this session.
What’s on in Overdose Prevention – actual trends and patterns
- Dirk Schäffer, Deutsche Aids Hilfe, Germany
What’s on in New Drug Trends?
- Daan van der Gouwe, Trimbos Institute, The Netherlands
What’s on in HCV testing and treatment in harm reduction settings
- Eberhard Schatz, Correlation European Harm Reduction Network, The Netherlands
17.30
End of Conference Day 2
20.00
Conference Party

Friday 23.11.2018
9.00 – 10.30
Parallel Session 26: Drug policy trends: alternative to coercive sanctions
Chair: Ganna Dovbakh
This session aims to provide space for discussion on current drug policy trends in Europe, the impact of international drug policies on European national policies and practice and the ways of transferring European best practices to other regions.
Participants will:
- Increase their understanding of the perspective of young people on the international and national drug policies;
- Learn about the current state of advocacy for decriminalization, legalization and alternatives to coercive sanctions (ACS) in Europe;
- Learn about pilot diversion from arrest programs in EU and barriers to their integration;
- Share perspectives of EU best practices in drug policy that could be promoted outside of the EU.
Shrinking space for harm reduction and human rights in EU based on Hungarian situation
- Peter Sarosi, Drugreporter, Hungary
Promotion of Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions (ACS) Programs in EECA
- Darya Matyushina, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, Russia
CRIMINALIZATION COSTS IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES: what it costs for the society?
- Eliza Kurcevic, Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Lithuania
Guidelines for law enforcement to improve public health outcomes for YPUD
- Morgana Daniele, Youth Rise, UK
Parallel session 27: mixed approaches - self regulation, data protection and the internet
Chairs: Jean Paul Grund
This session explores opportunities to overcome the paradigma of drug users as passive victims which need help and present measures, to improve social inclusion through web based tools and it shows how laws requiring mandatory collection of personal data forces NGO’s to compromise on human rights and collection of anonymized data in order to provide harm reduction services.
The challenge of drug use self- regulation in a Harm Reduction perspective
- Susanna Ronconi, Forum Droghe, Italy
Mandatory collection of drug user personal data for harm reduction services: Negative impact on the provision of harm reduction services and potential barrier for drug users
- Mihaela Blejan, Aras, Romania
Outreach work and counseling in TOR-web Finland
- Juha Sedergren and Juho Sarvanko, A-clinic foundation, Finland
Digital Humanities and harm reduction: how to decrease the digital divide and to allow a better access to healthcare for people who use drugs? Results from a feasibility study to develop a community-based surveillance web tool dedicated to PWUD.
- Laelia Briand Madrid, Inserm, France
Parallel session 28: HR, cannabis and legal substances and drug checking in France
Chair: Rene Akeret
Significant cannabis policy reforms are taking place. In this session we will present an actual overview on new developments in Cannabis policy and will discuss if and how these regulations will affect harm reduction response for Cannabis user. Furthermore a presentation will look at the transfer of harm reduction services to legal substances as for example the Swiss government is planning to do and will discuss the remaining challenges followed by an innovative new project addressing the need of addressing tobacco use within people you use drugs.
New developments in Cannabis policy
- Ingo Ilja Michels , Frankfurt University of Applied Science, Germany
Transfer of harm reduction strategies to legal substances
- Heino Stöver,Frankfurt University of Applied Science, Germany
The Switch
- Helen Redmond, Nicotine Harm Reduction Consultants, USA
Médecins du Monde and drug-checking services in France
- Gregory Pfau, Medecins du Monde, France
Parallel session 29 : Gendered consequences of repressive drug policies
Chair: Olga Byelyayeva
The session aims to provide space for women who use drugs and specialists working with this group to share and discuss gender specific consequences of repressive drug policies and the availability and quality of existing services inclusion of the community in the global women’s movement.
Participants will:
- Learn about recent studies of human rights violations of women who use drugs and the process of submitting complaints to UN bodies
- Increase their knowledge of intersectional feminism and the inclusion of the community of women who use drugs in the global feminist movement
- Learn about gender differences in substance use and the prevalence of HIV and HCV, and gender-sensitive services including services for women who use drugs who suffered from violence
- Discuss how to protect and minimize risks among activists and human rights defenders
Gender differences among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Estonia
- Maris Salekesin, National Institute for Health Development, Estonia
Human Rights of Women Who Use Drugs: Institutional Violence and Human Rights Abuse by OST Clinics’ Staff
- Maria Plotko, Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Lithuania
Harm Reduction Challenge: public nuisance vs public health
- Aura Ruig, Metzineres, Spain
Protection of Harm Reduction and Community Activists from Pressure, Arbitrary Arrest and other Forms of Abuse by Authorities
- Daria Matyushina-Ocheret and Svitlana Moroz, Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Russia
Harm reduction from perspective of feminism and history of the feminist movement
- Fenya Fischler, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, UK
Parallel session 30: Workshop: Support Don't Punish
Chair: Juan Fernandez
Support. Don’t Punish is a global grassroots-centred campaign in support of harm reduction and drug policy reform. This workshop will provide participants with a solid understanding of the campaign and its aims, encourage mobilisation and provide practical tools to identify barriers and collective think of levers for change to overcome them.
Support. Don’t Punish – Six years challenging the war on drugs
CO-FACILITATORS:
- Juan Fernandez Ochoa (IDPC)
- Janko Belin (EuroNPUD)
10.30 – 11.00
Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.30
Closing session: What’s ahead: core priorities for HR in 2019 and beyond
Room:
Moderator: Cinthia Menel Lemos and Eberhard Schatz
How we can achieve the Global Health Sector Strategy (GHSS) on viral hepatitis in Europe?
- Anton Mozalevski, WHO Europe
HR and HCV elimination: what’s next?
- Jeffrey Lazarus, HA REACT
Drug Policy Reform: Is Norway next to decriminalise drug use?
- Julianne Ferskaug, Government Party Venstre, Norway
- Arild Knutsen, Humane Drug Policies, Norway
Save our children: Time to legalize and regulate the drug market
- Jane Slater, Anyone’s Child and Transform, UK
Progress in harm reduction: moving forward despite the politics
- Jan Stola Yoda, Poland
Health and Drugs Policy in Europe: Political Leadership to move forward
- Ricardo Bapista Leite, Member of the Portugese Parliament, Portugal
International HR conference Porto
- Rui Coimbra Morais, European Network of People Who Use Drugs
- Naomi Burke Shyne, Harm Reduction International
- Jose Queiroz, Apdes
Conference wrap up, video