Burnet Institute Report - Harm reduction in Asia: Progress towards universal access to harm reduction services among people who inject drugs

In 2009 the UN Regional Task Force (RTF) commissioned an update of the Baseline Assessment of Policies, Resources and Services for Injecting Drug Users which was originally published in 2006 and covered 15 countries in South and South East Asia. The update was conducted by the Burnet Institute.

The update survey consists of a desk review of available data and information from a range of sources, including reports by government agencies, UN agencies, INGOs, and other sources. Information was collected about national programme support, including legal and policy context, barriers to scale up and programme implementation, and availability of services.

Already, the information and data from the report have been used to inform the situation and response analysis included in the Regional Strategy for Harm Reduction in Asia Pacific (2010-2015). In addition, the findings of the follow-up survey will be used for a variety of purposes by the UN RTF, including to highlight areas that require further advocacy and action, and for advocacy at regional fora for increased resource mobilisation towards a scaled up response.