MEDIA RELEASE
As a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy (“The Global Commission”), Motlanthe is joined by another 28 members, among which former Presidents and Prime Ministers including former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, as well as high profile figures including Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and the Immediate Past President of the International AIDS Society Adeeba Kamarulzaman. Former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz, former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Paul Volcker and the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan, have also been past members of The Commission over the past decade.
The Global Commission advocates for drug policies based on scientific evidence, human rights, public health and security.
Motlanthe will be joined in Melbourne by fellow Commissioners Helen Clark, the former New Zealand Prime Minister and its current Chair, and Geoffrey Gallop, former Premier of Western Australia.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Minister of Health Rachel Stephen-Smith will also address the conference. In October of last year, the ACT government passed legislation decriminalising small amounts of commonly used illicit drugs. The new law – a first in any Australian jurisdiction – will come into effect in late October this year.
Motlanthe is also the Chair of the recently launched Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) which was formed in response to certain contextual challenges, including the growing flow of heroin into the South and East African region, mainly from Afghanistan, and the increase in methamphetamine use in the region.
“The so-called War on Drugs has failed in every corner of the globe; for evidence-based solutions we need political leaders to come together, so we are delighted President Motlanthe has agreed to share Southern African efforts to strengthen health-based responses to drugs” said HRI Executive Director Naomi Burke Shyne.
HR23 is taking place at a time of reform and progress in drug policy in a number of Australian states and the Southeast Asia region.
Australia was an early and strong adopter of harm reduction and stands as an example of good harm reduction practice, with an extensive network of needle and syringe programmes, access to pharmacotherapy options and, more recently, naloxone, robust viral hepatitis testing and treatment, as well as two medically supervised injecting centres (also known as drug consumption rooms or overdose prevention centres). Despite this long history of harm reduction-focused policy and practice, reform in some spheres – for example pill testing, heroin prescription programmes, decriminalisation of personal use and possession of drugs, and prison-based needle and syringe programmes – is still a challenge in Australia.
The recent decision by the Victorian State government to grant the North Richmond Community Health Medically Supervised Injection Room permanent ongoing status has brought into focus the public health benefits of providing such a service. The HR23 conference programme will feature the results of the first-ever controlled trial conducted at the Drug Consumption Rooms in Paris and Strasbourg that compares the outcomes for people who inject drugs outside the centres with those people who make use of the centres’ services.
HR23 will also feature breaking news on global drug consumption patterns, the results of a groundbreaking fentanyl drug checking study undertaken in the U.S. and an inaugural study that reveals rates of Hepatitis C cure and reinfection in NSW Prisons. There will also be a special session on chemsex and presentations from Ukrainian civil society representatives on the impact of the Russian invasion on the delivery of critical health services such as HIV antiretrovirals, hepatitis medicines, sterile syringes and methadone.
Reinforcing the conference theme of Strength in Solidarity, HRI will partner on the event with four Australian civil society and professional health organisations: Harm Reduction Victoria, the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), The Australasian Society of the Study of HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) and the International Network on Heath and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU).
Accredited Media can register here
Michael Kessler, HR23 Media Relations
Mob: +61 484 924 970
Email: michael.kessler@intoon-email.com
Twitter: @mickessler
Harm Reduction International (HRI) is an international NGO which works to use data and advocacy to promote harm reduction and drug policy reform and demonstrate how rights-based, evidence-informed responses to drugs contribute to healthier, safer societies. It has convened the Harm Reduction International Conference since 1990.
Harm Reduction International (HRI) today welcomes the decision of the government of Victoria to introduce legislation to make the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) in Melbourne, Australia a permanent and ongoing service.
“The Victorian government’s decision to introduce legislation to make the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) a permanent and ongoing service is a win for public health and harm reduction,” said Naomi Burke-Shyne, HRI’s Executive Director. “It will save lives.”
“Supervised drug consumption sites across the world have saved thousands of lives and in many cases have also provided health and social services onsite, including Hepatitis C testing and treatment, homelessness support, mental health support, dental care, general practice, and drug dependence treatment.”
“We´re looking forward to hearing more about the body of evidence for these health services at our upcoming HR23 conference taking place in Melbourne this coming April.”
Michael Kessler, HR23 Media Relations
Mob: + 34 655 792 699
Email: media@hri.global
Harm Reduction International (HRI) is an international NGO which works to use data and advocacy to promote harm reduction and drug policy reform and demonstrate how rights-based, evidence-informed responses to drugs contribute to healthier, safer societies. It has convened the Harm Reduction International Conference since 1990.
The 27th Harm Reduction International Conference, HR23, will take place in Melbourne, Australia (16-19 April 2023)
MEDIA RELEASE
Former New Zealand Prime Minister and current Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Helen Clark, will open the 27th Harm Reduction International Conference (HR23) being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia on April 16-19. The biennial conference, convened by Harm Reduction International (HRI) is expected to attract over a thousand researchers, policy makers, health workers, civil society organisations and activists. The conference was last held in Australia in 2004.
As a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Clark is joined by 15 former Presidents and Prime Ministers including former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, together with a group of high profile figures including Virgin funder Sir Richard Branson, Louise Arbour, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Adeeba Kamarulzaman, infectious disease specialist and the immediate Past President of the International AIDS Society. The Commission advocates for drug policies based on scientific evidence, human rights, public health and security. Clark will be accompanied in Melbourne at the conference by Geoffrey Gallop, a fellow Commissioner and former Premier of Western Australia.
“The war on drugs is a failure and what better person than the hugely respected Helen Clark to share with us her vision of drug policies that are based on evidence and the principles of public health as opposed to discrimination, criminalisation and repression,” said Naomi Burke-Shyne, Executive Director of HRI.
HR23 is taking place at a time of reform and progress in drug policy in a number of Australian states and the Southeast Asia region. Australia was an early and strong adopter of harm reduction and stands as an example of good harm reduction practice, with an extensive network of needle and syringe programmes, access to pharmacotherapy options and naloxone, robust viral hepatitis testing and treatment, as well as two medically supervised injecting centres (also known as drug consumption rooms or overdose prevention centres). Despite this long history of harm reduction-focused policy and practice, reform in some spheres – for example pill testing, heroin prescription programmes, decriminalisation of personal use and possession of drugs, and prison-based needle and syringe programmes – is still a challenge in Australia.
“We´re thrilled that the conference is returning to Australia for the first time in in nearly two decades. It will be a special opportunity to showcase the leadership of the community of people who use drugs, Melbourne’s innovative harm reduction programmes, and also to push for further progress not just for the country, but for the region as a whole,” said Burke-Shyne.
Reinforcing the conference theme of Strength in Solidarity, HRI will partner on the event with four Australian civil society and professional health organisations: Harm Reduction Victoria, the Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL), The Australasian Society of the Study of HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) and the International Network on Heath and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU).
Download this media release here.
Media Registration: Accredited Media can register here.
Michael Kessler, HR23 Media Relations
Mobile: + 34 655 792 699
Email: media@hri.global
Twitter: @mickessler
Harm Reduction International (HRI) is an international NGO which works to use data and advocacy to promote harm reduction and drug policy reform and demonstrate how rights-based, evidence-informed responses to drugs contribute to healthier, safer societies. It has convened the Harm Reduction International Conference since 1990.
