Training police in safe search techniques to avoid occupational exposure to blood borne viruses Guangxi Province China
The Centre for Harm Reduction’s mission statement is clear. We are committed to promoting the philosophy and practice of harm reduction, with an emphasis on program development, training, advocacy and research. In our context, the term “harm reduction” refers to policies, programs and projects which aim to reduce the health, social and economic harms associated with the use of a wide range of drugs.
During 2006 we confirmed our strategic direction, settling upon a number of focus areas that complement and expand on our mission statement. These can be summarized under our five aims: to implement programs in partnerships; to build capacity and deliver training; to develop strategic alliances and partnerships; to promote and support advocacy for harm reduction; and to conduct comprehensive research.
Throughout 2006 we have been active in all five areas, with our main work in close collaboration with our Burnet Institute offices in the countries where we operate. This has been predominantly in Asia, notably Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and China, but also in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and India. We completed our harm reduction inputs on the AusAID funded Asia Regional HIV/AIDS Project (ARHP) and continue our regional activities for the DfID funded Central Asian Regional HIV/AIDS Project in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. See CHR Projects for details of other current work.
New avenues for collaborative work have opened up in countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia, where the political climate has become more conducive to harm reduction. Our breadth of experience is always on offer to assist the development of an evidence-based approach to harm reduction at the level of policy, practice and implementation.
We continued to provide a wide range of training and education, notably an exciting collaboration with Atma Jaya Catholic University in Indonesia, but also with courses and study tours in Melbourne and beyond. In the Region we provided training inputs over a broad scope of topics including monitoring and evaluation, peer education and outreach, rapid assessment and response, and law enforcement.
Our research portfolio expanded in 2006 to include two new domestic projects looking at local solutions to public drug injecting, and also injecting related injury and disease. Internationally, we commenced capacity building research on amphetamine use, rapid assessment in Papua New Guinea, and a survey of programs and services for drug users covering South and South-East Asia for the United Nations Regional Task Force on Injecting Drug Use and HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
Once again the year has shown us that harm reduction is a complex and evolving field that continuously presents new challenges, combining public health and human rights within a much broader development paradigm. Within its own scope of work, the Centre for Harm Reduction has continued to make valuable contributions to addressing the social and public health consequences of drug related harm as it impacts on some of the most marginalized and neglected sectors of society.