Global State of Harm reduction 2008. Mapping the response to drug-related HIV and hepatitis C epidemics

The Global State of Harm Reduction 2008 is the result of several months of hard work and collaborative efforts by IHRA and regional harm reduction networks and organisations around the world. It is the third publication from, and a major component of, the HR2 Programme - IHRAs programme of research and advocacy on harm reduction and human rights funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
The Global State report is designed to be an advocacy and reference tool for a wide range of audiences, including international donor organisations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), organisations of people who use drugs, researchers and the media. The report will also enable IHRA to engage with and work alongside a wide range of partners around the world regional harm reduction networks, international human rights organisations and HIV and drug policy organisations to advocate and lobby for harm reduction. Section 1 of the Global State of Harm Reduction 2008 provides a global overview of harm reduction policy and programming in response to HIV and HCV epidemics. Section 2 contains nine regional overviews which examine the situation and harm reduction response in further depth in Asia, Eurasia, Western Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, North America, Oceania, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Section 3 explores issues that are key to assessing the global state of harm reduction, including human rights, non-injecting drug use and civil society engagement in multilateral processes. (Editor' s abstract)