Rumah Cemara is a community-based organisation in Indonesia whose goal is to increase quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and people who use drug by using a peers approach.

Rumah Cemara es una organización con base comunitaria en Indonesia, cuyo objetivo es aumentar la calidad de vida de las personas que viven con el VIH/SIDA y de las personas que usan drogas mediante trabajo con pares.

Rumah Cemara est une organisation à base communautaire en Indonésie dont le but est d'améliorer la qualité de vie des personnes vivant avec le VIH/sida et des personnes usagères de drogues en utilisant des interventions par les pairs.

Rumah Cemara

Harm Reduction International (HRI), the South African Network of People who use drugs (SANPUD), VOCAL Kenya, Rumah Cemara and the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) shared key harm reduction messages for the 49th Global Fund Board Meeting (10-11 May 2023, Hanoi).

Investment in harm reduction from international donors and governments in low and middle-income (LMI) countries was just 5% of the US$2.7 billion UNAIDS estimates is required annually by 2025 for an effective HIV response among people who inject drugs. Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 represents a crucial moment for harm reduction programming and for community-led programming. However, as Window 1 and 2 countries progress to funding request submission, we are witnessing the serious obstacles that remain to ensuring harm reduction receives due prioritisation within funding requests.

We call on the Global Fund Board to utilise all evidence, tools and strategies available to ensure that HIV prevention for people who use drugs and wider key populations, including community-led responses, are central to Grant Cycle 7 HIV programming, in line with the Global Fund Strategy 2023-2025, the Global AIDS Strategy and Global Health Sector Strategies.

We call on Board Delegations to factor in the following priorities:

Grant Cycle 7 must uphold the Global Fund Strategy 2023-2025 commitment to communities and community-led programming, in keeping with the UNAIDS 30-80-60 targets

The Global Fund must do more to protect harm reduction as a ‘Program Essential’ in Grant Cycle 7

The reduction in catalytic investments threatens the delivery of the Global Fund Strategy on maximising health equity, gender equality and human rights

Grant Cycle 7 must fund efforts to increase domestic investment in harm reduction, and broader key population programming

Funding for harm reduction in crisis must be protected and prioritised

Harm reduction messages for the 49th Global Fund board meeting

Globally, governments spend over $100 billion on punitive drug law enforcement every year, and just $131 million on life-saving harm reduction. With donors withdrawing from many low- and middle-income countries and harm reduction being permanently underfunded, it is crucial that we find new and creative ways to increase domestic investment in services for people who use drugs.

The new 2021-2026 Global AIDS Strategy calls on governments to prioritise investment in HIV prevention, including harm reduction. It also calls for the removal of policies and laws that prevent people who use drugs from accessing the services they need such as the criminalisation of drug use and possession.

This webinar will explore how civil society and communities can advocate for changes in public budget allocation to increase resources for harm reduction, including by redirecting funding away from ineffective drug law enforcement to programmes that prioritise health, community and justice.




• Parina Subba Limbu, Executive Director, Dristi Nepal
• Subhan H. Panjaitan, Advocacy Coordinator, Rumah Cemara, Indonesia
• Wamala Twaibu, Executive Director, Uganda Harm Reduction Network




• Naomi Burke-Shyne, Executive Director, Harm Reduction International
• Revati Chawla, Lead: Programmes, Frontline AIDS




• UNAIDS
• Jeff Acaba, Senior Programme Officer, Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO)
• Onesmus Mlewa Kalama, Interim Executive Director, Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS Service Organisations (EANNASO)

The webinar is hosted by Harm Reduction International co-sponsored by UNAIDS and Frontline AIDS.

Divest + Redirect + Invest: Finding new pathways to increase domestic resources for harm reduction

Ahead of the UNAIDS Multi-Stakeholder Consultation on 16 September, 33 civil society and community-led organisations working on drug policy and harm reduction are urging the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (UNAIDS PCB) to uphold the rights of people who use drugs and harm reduction in the new UNAIDS Strategy.

This letter includes six key recommendations from our community and sector and we asking UNAIDS PCB to advocate for these at the upcoming Consultation.

Now, more than ever, we need their leadership to be strong, bold and unrelenting in ensuring that key populations, including people who inject drugs, are prioritised in the new UNAIDS Strategy; harm reduction services are available, scaled-up and fully funded to meet the HIV prevention and health needs of people who use drugs wherever needed; communities, including community-led services, and civil society are at the front and centre of the HIV response; and barriers to services, including criminalisation, stigma, discrimination, punitive laws and policies, are removed.

The new UNAIDS strategy will have profound implications - either by compounding or alleviating the political invisibility of people who use drugs. We need them to show a commitment to people who use drugs in your engagement in the Strategy process.

We will not end AIDS if we keep leaving people who inject drugs behind.

Call to uphold the rights of people who use drugs and harm reduction in the new UNAIDS Strategy

Harm reduction programmes in Indonesia have been officially recognised and in operation since 2007, beginning with their implementation in primary-level healthcare facilities. Harm reduction programmes differ from the majority of drug rehabilitation programmes in Indonesia, with the latter focussed on the achievement of abstinence. From when they were established in the late 1990s, rehabilitation programmes in Indonesia typically adopted the approach of setting behavioural change and abstinence from drug use as the only goals. No compromise on these goals were allowed in determining a client’s successful completion of a rehabilitation programme. Harm reduction on the other hand, refers to a set of policies, programmes and practices aimed primarily at reducing the harms associated with drug use, which could range from health, social to economic harms, without necessarily focussing on ending drug use.

This policy paper is based on an analysis of data and evidence produced from a desk review of literature, and focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with clients who have undergone both types of programmes: abstinence-based rehabilitation programmes, and those integrated with harm reduction services in Indonesia. The paper concludes with recommendations for the Indonesian government to implement policy reforms that enable the integration of harm reduction measures into drug rehabilitation programmes.

Integration of harm reduction into drug rehabilitation programmes in Indonesia

Rumah Cemara with the support of International HIV/AIDS Alliance, AFEW and Public Health Service (GGD) organised a study tour visit to Amsterdam, Netherlands for representatives of municipalities from Bandung and Surabaya. The visit took place from 15 till 17 November 2016. It was inspired by the ‘City leadership’ and ’90-90-90 cascade’ concepts and included acquaintance with integrated services for people who use drugs, visits to STI clinic and a number of organisations working with vulnerable populations in Amsterdam. The aim of the visit was to demonstrate the best experience of city authorities' involvement into public health issues.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Indonesian mayors exchange study tour to Amsterdam

Last week, civil society organisations from around Southeast Asia, including the Asian Network of People who use Drugs, Asia Catalyst, KHANA Cambodia, LBH Masyarakat (Indonesia), NoBox Transitions (Philippines) and Drug Policy Advocacy Group Myanmar, sent an open letter co-ordinated by the International Drug Policy Consortium to the ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.

The letter requests ASEAN to establish opportunities for civil society organisations and affected communities to participate in the official process for the development of the new ASEAN strategy and work-plan on the use and supply of drugs.

As senior drug policy officials from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meet in Thailand this week, they are expected to discuss the shape of the new drug strategy for the region. Drugs are considered as a security matter, so the details of the meeting’s agenda and their discussions are closed to the public, including to communities affected by drugs and drug policies (namely people who use drugs and people who cultivate drugs for subsistence purposes) and civil society organisations.

What we do know at this stage is that the goal of the previous drug strategy to achieve a drug-free region will be retained, as outlined in the new framework for ASEAN: 

. But will they discuss and seek to address recent horrific drug policy consequences, such as use of the death penalty (and with undue process) in Indonesia and extrajudicial killings in the name of a war on drugs in the Philippines? Will ASEAN governments try to tackle the very serious problem of the lack of evidence-based, voluntary drug treatment and harm reduction services, particularly in relation to the use of amphetamine-type stimulants which has been identified as the top drug of concern for most countries in the region not to mention the ongoing use of compulsory drug detention centres and other problems highlighted in previous IDPC advocacy notes on the ASEAN drug strategy?

We know that engaging NGOs and affected populations in the design and formulation of drug policies is critical to ensure that policies and strategies truly address the issues faced by people on the ground, and do not lead to further harm. This is common practice in other regional structures such as the African Union, Organization of American States and the European Union. Engaging affected communities and NGOs is hugely beneficial, as their expertise and experience is vast, and capable of contributing robust evidence to inform the development of humane and effective drug policies. As ASEAN member states plan a new drug strategy and work-plan, advocates from the region urge ASEAN governments and the ASEAN Secretariat to ensure the meaningful participation of civil society and community representatives through the establishment of formal consultative mechanisms on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of ASEAN drug policies and programmes.

The following organisations signed on to the open letter to the ASEAN Secretary-General:

Cambodian Network of People Who Use Drugs (CNPUD)

NoBox Transitions Foundation (Philippines)

PKNI - Persaudaraan Korban Napza Indonesia (Indonesia Drug User Network)

Urging ASEAN to work with civil society in coming up with a new drug strategy

Civil society groups from all over the world have released a statement condemning governments for failing to acknowledge the devastating consequences of punitive and repressive drug policies as they prepare for a UN summit on the issue next month.

In April 2016, world leaders will gather in New York to decide on the future of global drug policy, at the first UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the topic in two decades. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for this meeting to be a “wide-ranging and open debate that considers all options.” But as the preparations continue this week in Vienna at an annual meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, it is becoming clear that the ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to rethink the failed ‘war on drugs’ is unlikely to deliver.

Civil society statement - The UNGASS outcome document: Diplomacy or denialism?

Practice Center on HIV, Hepatitis C And Drug Use launches ‘Unite to eliminate HepC: Know it, test it, treat it’

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day (July 28), the Practice Center on HIV, Hepatitis C and Drug Use, hosted by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, in partnership with a select group of Linking Organizations of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, have united to call for greater awareness and to mobilize community action for access to affordable hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing, diagnostics and treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 185 million people worldwide are infected with HCV, including an estimated 4 to 5 million individuals who are chronically infected with both HCV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Termed the “silent epidemic”, the vast majority of people are not aware they are infected with HCV because the initial stages have no symptoms. Left untreated, the virus inflames and eventually scars the liver, this sometimes leads to liver failure and liver cancer, and is the most common reason for liver transplants.

Up to 500,000 people die from HCV-related complications every year. In many countries, the number of deaths related to HCV has surpassed those caused by HIV. HCV disproportionally impacts people who inject drugs. This underscores the urgent need to address the public health threat posed by HCV worldwide. The vast majority of people with chronic HCV infection live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to HCV treatment remains very limited. New HCV drugs demonstrate cure rates of up to 100 percent, which have radically transformed how we think about hepatitis and raised the prospect of dramatically reducing death rates with the ultimate goal of eliminating HCV as a public health threat by scaling up the deployment of HCV treatment and promoting clean injections to prevent new and/or re-infections.

However, HCV treatment is currently unaffordable and not accessible to most patients in need, and people who inject drugs are systematically excluded from treatment programs. Unnecessary illness and death continue and the epidemic keeps spreading. The funds allocated by the national governments within the target programs are scarce and inadequate to mount a robust response to the epidemic. The prices for HCV treatment remain exorbitant. National governments, international agencies, donors, civil society organizations, and the pharmaceutical industry must unite to help assure that HCV treatment is affordable and accessible for all those who need it.

We call for global action to eliminate HCV before it becomes the new global killer disease:

Governments to develop comprehensive national hepatitis programs and allocate adequate resources to diagnose and treat HCV, allowing for priority access for those most affected by the disease; to include direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) into the List of Essential Medicines and apply all the possible legal means for ensuring access to treatment including TRIPS flexibilities;

International Donors to allocate resources for procurement of DAAs and diagnostic tools;

Civil Society to mobilize and launch awareness and advocacy campaigns and proactively approach governments and donors for support;

Pharmaceutical Companies to dramatically reduce prices for HCV treatment to ensure access for all those in need.

The Alliance Linking Organizations, supported by the Practice Center on HIV, Hepatitis C and Drug Use, are taking concrete actions to raise awareness and mitigate the impact of HCV.

 India HIV/AIDS Alliance and MAMTA are advocating with pharmaceutical companies and state departments to bring HCV treatment issue under their national programs; provide prevention of HBV and/or HCV infection among communities at risk and introduce early management of the infection among persons newly diagnosed or living with HBV and/or HCV; educate and link patients with insurance and other schemes supported by government and/or private sector to address the patient’s needs associated with the disease.

 KANCO has launched a campaign which offers free HBV testing and vaccination for people who inject drugs nationwide between 27-31 July 2015. This campaign will also offer antibody testing for HCV.

 As a result of the All-Ukrainian “Demand Treatment!” advocacy campaign launched in 2012, Alliance Ukraine managed to raise HCV awareness, mobilize communities, partner with NGOs, health care professionals across all Ukrainian regions, significantly reduce prices for HCV diagnostics and treatment, and conduct the procurement of sofosbuvir within a new pilot HCV treatment program in May 2015 for 1,500 patients, including those with HCV and HIV co infection and people who use drugs, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The new program is based on a community initiated treatment approach, which prioritizes and enables individuals most in need to be treated first. Expansion of this program is being planned for 2016. This will provide a solid base for further treatment scale-up in Ukraine and elsewhere in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.

 The Practice Center on HIV, Hepatitis C and Drug Use, Alliance Ukraine, ITPCru and Access HCV Treatment published a report in April 2015 entitled “Hepatitis C in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Epidemic and Response” that summarizes data from 10 low- and middleincome countries of the EECA region with a focus on availability of HCV medicines, treatment guidelines, national/donor treatment programs, and civil society involvement in the HCV response. This pioneering report also offers possible future steps that could be taken by civil society to improve access to HCV treatment. To download a copy of the full report, please go to: http://bit.ly/1HvAn0a

Join Unite to Eliminate HepC Campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

 – change your social media profile picture in support of the campaign (download images here) and use hashtag 

 to have your say. Send your selfie with campaign logo to our Facebook page in support of the campaign.

Alliance Linking Organizations who have joined the campaign:

New global campaign calls for immediate action to eliminate hepatitis C

An open letter - signed by more than thirty Indonesian civil society organisations including Rumah Cemara - was sent to the President, Ir. H. Joko Widodo. It calls for an end to all pending executions. A further 64 people – both foreign and Indonesian nationals – have been sentenced to death and are currently waiting on death row.

Indonesia has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Asia. Injecting drug use is a key driver of new infections. Rumah Cemara takes a harm reduction approach to tackling drug use and HIV. According to Ardhany Suryadarma, their Policy Manager for the EU funded project, Asia Action on Harm Reduction:

“These executions only exacerbate the stigmatisation of people who use drugs, driving them underground and away from methadone programmes and safer injecting equipment. We know the services we provide keep individuals safer and curb the HIV epidemic.”

“In the letter, we call on our President to review Indonesian narcotics law enforcement policy and find more effective approaches to addressing the country’s drugs problem.”

The letter draws on the strong body of evidence which shows that the death penalty for drugs traffickers is not an effective response to the global drug problem, and is in violation of international human rights law.

Rumah Cemara

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