Harm reduction
Project manager: Dagmar Hedrich, Alessandro Pirona
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The European Union Drugs Strategy(2005-2012) addresses the reduction of drug-related harms to health and society as a main objective and encourages national action that gives emphasis to the reduction of infectious diseases and drug-related deaths. In the first of two consecutive four-year action plans accompanying the Strategy (EU Drugs Action Plan 2005-2008), the preventionand reduction of social harm and health damage is stipulated as the ultimate aim. Objectives defined in the Action Plan to guide Member States include the prevention of health risks related to drug use, adequate availability and accessibility of effective harm reduction services as highlighted already in theCouncil Recommendation on the prevention and reduction of health-related harmassociated with drug dependenceof 18 June 2003.
Evidence-based harm reduction
Measures to minimise drug-related damage, reduce deaths and mitigate public nuisance arean integral part of many national drug strategies and a clear policy priority in a majority of countries. The project aims to improve the information basis on the level of implementation of evidence based harm reduction measures in the EU Member States and Norway by monitoring national strategies and responses, analysing available evidence and documenting evidence based projects to support the transfer of expertise across Europe. Data are gathered on the whole range of response policies and intervention practices that aimto reduce health-related harm, but a specific focus is on prevention of infectious diseases and reduction of overdose mortality.A further area of work are service quality management issues in low-threshold services.
Reitox Academy 2005: Harm reduction data and reporting
A review of the current 'state of the art' of harm reduction data collection was carried outin September 2005 during a special Reitox Academy meeting on harm reduction data and reporting.Focal Point experts from 20 countries examined the results of the most recent round of data-collection 2004/2005 – involving the use of new information collection tools – andshared their experiences about the use of these tools and explored models of how to link drug use-related harm and harm reduction. The Academy meeting also included an update on the DG/Sanco consultant study to follow-up the Council Recommendation of 18 June 2003 on prevention and reduction of health-related harm and on the EMCDDA’s technical role in the evaluation of the EU Action Plan.
The meeting contributed to establish a common understanding between the national experts and the EMCDDA of challenges of harm reduction monitoring, to review progress, identify areas where more knowledge on prevention and reduction of health-related harm is needed in order to inform European public health policies, and to set targets for EMCDDA harm reduction monitoring for the medium-term future.
The presentations of the meeting can be downloaded below.
