harm reduction
New government in Macedonia budgets for ARVs and prevention services to KAPs, as Global Fund support comes to an end
On 5 September, the recently elected government of the Republic of Macedonia ordered the Ministry of Health to allocate 103 million Macedonian denars (approximately € 1,674,000) within the National HIV Program for 2018 to (a) ensure continuous access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for HIV-positive people; and (b) support the implementation of HIV prevention programs among key affected populations (KAPs) such as men who have sex with men (M
A comparative study of opioid substitution therapy protocols will contribute to the sustainability of harm reduction in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region
The new methodology for the funding allocations and consequent gradual decrease of GF financing for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) countries puts at special risk the operations of harm reduction services, which were, traditionally, largely supported by the GF.
Advocacy on drug use in Georgia: Public health and harm reduction arguments may produce better results
According to an article in the journal BioMed Central, the approach to the illicit use of drugs in Georgia since the mid-2000s has been both repressive and ineffective.
In Georgia, the new National Platform for Drug Policy will promote dialogue as well as advocacy
In Georgia, at the end of April, the Georgian Drug Users Community Group (GeNPUD) established a National Platform for Drug Policy. The platform brings together 33 entities representing NGOs providing services, other civil society organizations, unions, research organizations, and drug user community groups.
GeNPUD is a network of organizations of people who use drugs.
Board approves new policy on sustainability, transition, and co-financing
The Global Fund’s new strategy for the period 2017-2022 has a strong focus on the sustainability of investments. This includes supporting countries that are transitioning from Global Fund support to domestic reliance for their disease programs.
Harm reduction in many EECA countries is not sufficient, strategic or sustainable, study says
Harm reduction in many countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is not sufficient, strategic, or sustainable. This is the central conclusion of an assessment conducted by the regional “Harm Reduction Works – Fund it!” program in six countries: Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, and Tajikistan. A report on the assessment was recently published.
Thailand’s transition triggers concerns for some, but others are more confident
Thailand has been hailed by The Global Fund as the golden example of a well-planned and well-managed transition. When Thailand submitted its TB/HIV concept note in June 2014, the country announced that this would be the last time it requested money from The Global Fund. The country indicated that it would transition in just two years, shorter than the standard three-year Global Fund grant cycle. This is an unusual situation.
EHRN issues another report on how harm reduction programs are affected when the Global Fund pulls out of a country
The Eurasian Harm Reduction Network has issued the second in a series of reports on the impact on harm reduction programs of the Global Fund withdrawing support for HIV components in a country. The second report, on Bulgaria, reached a similar conclusion as the first report, on Serbia – i.e.
For transitions to be successful, governments have to be ready to take over programs previously supported by the Global Fund, EECA dialogue concludes
Transitioning away from Global Fund support is about money, of course, but it is much more about the readiness of national systems to take over all services currently covered by the programs financing by the Fund.
Civil society urges responsible transition towards domestic funding of HIV and TB in EECA
A workshop hosted on July 21-22 in Istanbul aimed to provide more nuanced guidance to the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia on sustainability of HIV and TB programs, as most of them are bracing for what they see as an inevitable further reduction in their support from the Global Fund.
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