HCV Quest is a global patient survey, investigating the impacts hepatitis C can have on patients’ personal and social life as well as education and work and examining patients’ experience of care.

Through HCV Quest, we are gathering data which will become a powerful tool for patient advocacy and will be used by the Alliance to challenge governments and health policy makers to do more to fight viral hepatitis. The survey can also be printed and saved, so you can share your responses with your doctors and loved ones, helping them to better understand and support your needs.

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

Global patient survey on the impact of hepatitis C

Pursuant to Resolution AG/RES. 2802 (XLIII-O/13) on the “Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of People Vulnerable to, Living with or Affected by HIV/AIDS in the Americas,” which was adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in June 2013, as well as the collaboration agreement signed between the OAS and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in January 2014, both entities are collaborating on the preparation of a 

joint report on “The Social and Human Rights Dimensions of HIV in the Americas.

” The report will serve to inform discussions among Member States and between States and their allies on the challenges that exist to an effective response to HIV and the actions necessary to effectively and sustainably implement integrated care, prevention and support.

The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the OAS will coordinate the preparation of 

a chapter of this report on “The Human Rights of Women Living with HIV in the Americas

,” by compiling information from the national level through a questionnaire directed to OAS Member States and key civil society organizations, on four issues:

Access to support services and resources;

Inter-sectoral coordination and participation; and

We request your kind collaboration in returning the completed questionnaire no later than 

Questionnaire on the human rights of women living with HIV in the Americas

On November 10 – 11, 2014, a national consultative meeting called “Improving Access to Services for HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support of People who Inject Drugs” was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The meeting was organized by UNAIDS with the participation of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN).

"For Tajikistan, this meeting became a platform for the community of people who use drugs to get extensively involved in a dialogue with the authorities. It’s a rare occasion that the community representatives sit at negotiations with the Deputy Minister of Health, Secretary of the National Coordination Committee on AIDS, leaders of AIDS centers and drug rehabilitation clinics, as well as UN agencies,” said Dasha Ocheret, Deputy Director for Advocacy and Communication, EHRN.

Seeking to take full advantage of this unique opportunity to have a face-to-face dialogue with the authorities on improving the quality of harm reduction programs, EHRN and SPIN Plus, the main EHRN partner organization in Tajikistan, held a two-day preparatory workshop with community representatives. During this workshop, a common position was developed, presentations were coordinated and recommendations for the resolution of the national consultative meeting were prepared.

Well-coordinated cooperation with UNAIDS, as well as careful preparation for and active work at the workshop resulted in tangible achievements that the community of Tajikistan drug users can be proud of.

Face-to-face dialogue between Tajik PWUD community and authorities resulted in tangible achievements

Last Monday, the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt visited Mændenes Hjem (Men´s Home), the drug consumption room (DCR) which opened in October 2012 in Copenhagen. Mændenes Hjem has 3,292 registered users and 500-700 daily users.

Since it opened, the DCR has housed 285,000 intakes and 250 drug users have suffered an overdose, but, due to the supervision facillities and the emergency treatment provided by the centre none of them died. In Copenhangen, the number of drug deaths has been reduced by 100 per year.

Drug users from the centre gave a hug to the Prime Minister and thanked her for making this harm reduction proyect possible.

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

Danish drug consumption room celebrates its second anniversary

Twenty years ago, Ethan Nadelmann left his teaching position at Princeton University to become a full-time advocate for ending the drug war. As the founding executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), the largest and most influential organization promoting drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, Ethan’s vision and leadership have had a monumental impact on public opinion and changed the course of history.

The Drug Policy Alliance has reformed state and federal laws involving drug sentencing, access to sterile syringes to reduce HIV/AIDS, addiction treatment, prevention of overdose fatalities, and all aspects of marijuana policy. DPA and its lobbying arm, Drug Policy Action, played an instrumental role in securing monumental drug policy reform victories in the recent midterm elections, including marijuana legalization in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., marijuana decriminalization in New Mexico, medical marijuana in Guam, and groundbreaking criminal justice and sentencing reforms in New Jersey and California.

Ethan Nadelmann's Fiery TED Talk: What has the war on drugs done to the world?

This article was first published by the Foreign Policy Centre, and is adapted from a chapter in AIDS Today: 2014 Edition. You can read the original here.

Before Russia wrested control of the Crimean peninsula in March this year, HIV transmission rates were falling in this region, thanks to life-saving schemes offered to drug users including needle syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapies (OST). But since coming under Russia’s draconian drug laws, these schemes have been closed down, leading to at least 20 deaths already.

Russia’s dangerous stance toward drug users is causing untold harm in the fight against AIDS on the streets of our own cities and towns today. A shadowy world of drug-taking and rampant HIV infection pervades some of the most vulnerable groups in our society, who are stigmatised and marginalised by a state that refuses to take responsibility for their plight.

The facts speak for themselves: nearly 5 million people use illegal drugs in Russia, 1.7 million of whom are opiate users. Almost 60 percent of officially registered HIV cases in 2013 were also people who use drugs. In some cities, HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs is as high as 74 percent. The epidemic is on the rise, with 800,000 people officially registered as HIV positive and many others who do not even know their status.

Tuberculosis has reached epidemic proportions in Russia, now the primary cause of death among people with HIV, and 78 percent of men with both TB and HIV are injecting drug users. The total number of people with the hepatitis C virus who also inject drugs is estimated to be over one million.

Despite this shocking scenario, the state provides no services to stem drug dependency and its related health and social problems. People who use drugs are depicted by state officials as “deviant” and as criminals, and therefore undeserving of equal access to healthcare. The Russian government refuses to adopt even the most mainstream and well-studied approaches to drug treatment, including OST, which is actually illegal. Instead, anti-psychotic drugs that were used against Soviet dissidents are part of the standard regime for treating drug dependency in state facilities, a practise contravening international standards.

Russia’s drug users have a right to needles, methadone, dignity

For the last four decades, the USA has relentlessly expanded the size of our criminal justice system, needlessly throwing away too many lives and wasting trillions of taxpayer dollars. This criminal justice system is unproductive, wasteful, and dominated by racial disparities. Bad policies are made, and bad policies can be changed. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) campaign is called Smart Justice Fair Justice at it is already implementing solutions.

Join the fight against mass incarceration.

Some of the proposals include the following:

Over the last 40 years, we've spent trillions of dollars enforcing senseless drug laws. Drug use has not declined, while millions of people – disproportionately poor people and people of color – have been swept into a net of correctional control that is difficult to escape and derails lives. Many have been arrested just for having a small amount of drugs. Better solutions exist.

The hallmark of a legitimate justice system is fairness. And yet, today in America, hundreds of thousands of people are serving decades-long prison sentences that are far out of proportion to their crimes. The culprit? Extreme sentencing laws and mandatory minimum laws that strip judges of their ability to make the sentence actually fit the crime. It's time to change these laws.

 Some people and corporations – such as private companies that get larger payments from the state the longer they hold someone – have a vested interest in the status quo and are working to thwart smart reforms that could reduce incarceration. We need to incentivize smart and fair practices like keeping people in the community when they don't pose a threat.

 Hundreds of thousands of people are locked up not based on any dangerous behavior, but because they could not pay off a fine or were convicted of a nonviolent drug or property crime. Some behind bars are so frail because of old age or illness that they can barely walk. We need to rethink the costly practice of keeping these people behind bars.

 Problems like mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness are more appropriately addressed outside the criminal justice system altogether. Services like drug treatment and affordable housing cost less and can have a better record of success. It's time we got serious about pulling our money out of incarceration and putting it into systems that foster healthy communities.

ACLU launches a campaign to end mass incarceration in USA

在防治艾滋病毒和艾滋病的全球信息是明确的——任何人都不应被抛在后面。英语版本拥有更多信息，请阅读下文。

随时掌握与药物政策发展相关的最新信息。

The global message on tackling HIV and AIDS is clear - no one should be left behind. However, 30 million men and women spend time in prisons every year and are often overlooked in national strategies and global commitments; the time to turn the HIV tide in prison is pressing. Such a response must also include prison staff and should pay special attention to women in prisons.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov opened on 16 October 2014 in Vienna the Global Consultation on HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support in Prison Settings. The meeting, addressing the HIV needs of the prison population and staff, is part of UNODC's work to ensure that efforts are intensified globally to tackle the large gaps and disparities existing in the HIV response in prisons.

Mr. Fedotov, referring to the urgent necessity to address comprehensively HIV and the broader health needs of staff and prisoners said "Health in prison is a right guaranteed in international law, as well as in international rules, guidelines, declarations and covenants. Prisoners should have access to medical treatment and preventive measures without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation." He underlined the need to foster and strengthen collaboration and integration among all stakeholders, including ministries of health and other ministries with responsibilities in prisons, as well as civil society and community-based service providers.

关于监狱中对艾滋病充分反应的需要的讨论

伊朗长时间以来一直有世界上最严峻的毒品依赖问题，但是其政府对于毒品战争的态度依旧充斥着矛盾。英语版本拥有更多信息，请阅读下文。

Iran has long had one of the world’s biggest drug dependence problems, but the government’s attitude toward the drug war remains rife with contradiction. Iran has taken drug dependence very seriously, as evidenced both by its extensive and heavy-handed law enforcement efforts and by the resources it puts toward prevention, treatment and harm-reduction programs. However, officials have at times downplayed the extent of the problem, as politicians have sought to paint a positive picture of the state of drug dependence in Iran.

In a June speech, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that Iran was home to 1.35 million addicts, adding that this number put Iran below the overall world dependence rate. By most accounts, however, the levels of dependence in the Islamic Republic are among the highest in the world. Former UNODC head Antonio Maria Costa has said, “Dependence in Iran is ten times what is known in other countries,” that actual Iranian dependence rates are likely much higher than those reported by the government and that drug dependence rates are actually closer to 6 percent. The last comprehensive survey, according to some scientists, was done in 2004, the year before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president, and it put Iran’s number of addicts at 3.7 million.

Click here to read the full article (restricted access).

走出阴影：伊朗药物依赖演进式方针

本文提供有关在东欧和中亚地区弱势群体获得治疗的区域建议。英语版本拥有更多信息，请阅读下文。

On 19-21October 2014, a regional dialogue was organized in Tbilisi, Georgia. It focused on the regional proposal regarding access to treatment for vulnerable groups in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which is being prepared by ECUO and EHRN for submission to the Global Fund (GF). Information is already available on our website regarding an initial proposal that was submitted to the GF and supported by it at the stage of an expression of interest.

The meeting of key populations, vulnerable groups, people living with HIV, governmental specialists and international agencies was very fruitful. Not only was the common goal of the future regional project agreed upon, but there was also a detailed discussion of its objectives as well as a common way of interaction between the partners.

The main issues discussed, both at the plenary session and within the working groups, were the fundamental challenges that are relevant not only to the project, but also to ensuring the viability and effectiveness of the response to the epidemic in our region.

什么是艾滋病的连续性关怀，以及我们如何能够确保弱势群体获得它？

印度对药物使用的方法未能解决权利的保护在确保毒品使用者的整体福祉发挥核心作用。英语版本拥有更多信息，请阅读下文。

November 1st has been observed as International Drug Users Day since 1995. Globally, there is a growing movement by activists and policy experts calling for de-criminalisation of drug users.

India has a long history of cannabis and opium use for social, cultural, religious and medical purposes. There are several examples of the use of these substances being sanctioned by particular communities. In sharp contrast today, India’s explicit constitutional aspiration to eliminate all forms of drug use from society is possibly the single most dangerous ideal that has fueled utter disregard for the health and rights of people who use drugs in India.

Political apathy is evident from the 2014 amendment to the principal Indian drug law, NDPS Act 1985, which leaves very little space for the promotion of evidence-informed and rights-based programming for drug users. The amendment does have a few positive features in its handling of harm reduction, treatment and recasting the death penalty. However, it enhances punishment for consumption and possession of small quantities for personal use from 6 months to 1 year, which is in direct contrast to developments in countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy and even America where the War on Drugs originated. The response in India to drug use has primarily been a health services-based approach. Though it mitigates some aspects of vulnerability, this approach fails to address the central role that rights protections play in ensuring the overall wellbeing of drug users.

印度：结束对吸毒者的战争

Globally thousands of lives could be saved by simply increasing opiate users’ access to naloxone. England experienced an alarming 32% increase in opiate-overdose deaths in 2013, totalling 765 in 2013. Blenheim and IDHDP were so appalled by these figures they called a Naloxone Action Summit to see what could be changed to reduce this number of unnecessary deaths. The Summit took place on Monday 27th October and the room was packed with people who wanted to see change happen quickly.


Participants were asked a series of questions before the event and what was clear was there was marked variation of naloxone availability, ranging from nothing to wide available to all. The main barriers to availability appeared to be lethargy, lack of understanding and knowledge, competing priorities, finance and confusion, particularly what you can and can’t do currently. Nationally, the lack of clear guidance or instructions from the centre, confusion about the MHRA consultation, the October 2015 date and funding issues. The main drivers were usually champions in the area with a real desire to reduce these deaths.

The summit got off to a positive start with Professor John Strang of the National Addiction Centre setting the scene and giving a history of naloxone. The evidence has long been available but it took until 1998 for Jersey to provide naloxone to opiate users, but then we had to wait until 2010 to see Scotland launch the first national programme. He then went on to encourage us to do the things we could, like prescribe to all entering opiate substitute treatment (OST). Professor Strang also stressed the necessity of considering families as a key work-force and highlighted the great importance of normalising use of naloxone. “Why should Naloxone use be any different from the use of insulin, glucagon, the EpiPen or defibrillators?”.

John Jolly reminded us of the ACMD recommendations made in May 2012, which after a review of naloxone said that it should be more widely available in the UK, there should be less restrictions to access and more training is needed. It would appear that saying more training is needed has been used to delay the immediate implementation until after the next election – particularly as training has been going on for sometime now and continues to do so.

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