HR Asia

India HIV/AIDS Alliance works with PWID community to build networks that engage with national and state-level governments, state and local law enforcement officials as well as health care workers to expand their understanding for the delivery of a comprehensive harm reduction package of services. We are the Principle Recipient (PR) for The Global Fund supported regional Harm Reduction Advocacy in Asia programme. It is a three year, seven country Asia programme (2017-2019) that includes Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Along with the in-country partners – KHANA (Cambodia), Rumah Cemara (Indonesia), Cebu Plus (Philippines), Ozone Foundation (Thailand) and SCDI (Vietnam), the programme is built on the capacities of four regional technical partners, namely Asian Network of People who Use Drugs (ANPUD), Law Enforcement and HIV Network (LEAHN), International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and Harm Reduction International (HRI).

The programme aims to maximise impact of investments that help break the cycle of transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs (PWID) in concentrated epidemics by addressing legal, policy and health system barriers that impedes access to services. The programme also aims at strengthening community systems and increasing the evidence for advocacy.

The project aims to:

• Create a platform for strategic engagement with regional mechanisms as well as national governments on legal and policy reform to support harm reduction interventions.

• Convene national and regional level policy dialogues with policy makers from relevant government ministries (Social Justice and Empowerment, Health etc.) on harm reduction policy, programme (increase domestic funding) and legal issues (arrest and incarceration); transition strategies for international donors and the issue of sustained funding for harm reduction in the region.

• Strengthen community systems, in particular networks of PWID and harm reduction civil society organisations to meaningfully engage in dialogue with key stakeholders for a sustained HIV and drug use response.

• Generate strategic information to shape advocacy for a health and rights based harm reduction response – policy and operations research will provide national stakeholders in focus countries and regional institutions with information to improve policy and programmatic responses to HIV and drug use

Through the project, we are advocating for sustained implementation of the WHO recommended HIV prevention package of services for people who inject drugs.