Eastern Africa health professionals have urged governments to come up with medically assisted therapy for people who inject drugs by integrating harm reduction as part of primary healthcare.
Health rights of People Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) and People Who Inject Drugs (PWIDs) are often violated because of the societal discriminations and stigmatization, exposing them to high risk of contracting HIV and AIDS. Health practitioners also fail to provide care for these groups of people due to negative attitudes because no friendly laws protect PWUDs rights.
Speaking at the first Harm reduction conference held in Nairobi, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health Sicily Kariuki said that research has shown people who use drugs and inject drugs (PWUDs and PWIDs) are an important bridging population for HIV transmission and other blood infections. She added that despite this risk, drug policies in the region still only focus on the criminal justice approach and law enforcement rather than public health rights.
“Addiction is an illness that needs to be treated not a crime that needs to be punished,” said the Cabinet Secretary. Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.
The first ever Eastern Africa Harm reduction conference sought to expand harm reduction initiatives among illicit drugs users and improve quality of life to victims. The conference also laid out strategies to reduce drug use by seeking to moot strategies to reduce the health, social and economic consequences of people who inject drugs. “The goal of the program is to assist the people who use drugs to reduce and or eliminate HIV and harms associated with drug use,” the CS added.
