Response Beyond Borders - Asian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Harm Reduction created

Approximately 250 participants attended the Second Asian Consultation on HIV Prevention related to Drug Use in Bangkok on the 21st to the 23rd January 2010, an event led and organized by Response Beyond Borders (RBB). This event built on the First Asian Consultation back in January 2008 held in Goa India and the three sub-regional interim workshops - one in Phnom Penh, one in Kathmandu and one in Bishkek - focusing primarily on the engagement of people who use drugs in the regional and national responses to drugs and HIV. Among significant outcomes of the meeting, the members of parliament who participated decided to form a Parliamentary Standing Committee on HIV and Harm Reduction. This Committee would focus on advocacy with other MPs, on effective policy and legislative changes as well as providing a mechanism for dialogue with communities of people who use drugs and people living with HIV. The Committee was formed with support from RBB and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development.