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Harm Reduction Update
New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme
Safety First…
o Saving lives
o Building better quality of life for those who use drugs
o Opposite of the war on drugs
o Meeting people where they are at
o Empathy and understanding
o Part of one continuum
Harm Reduction is…
“There is no recovery in the graveyard”
o Reducing physical harms
- Blood borne virus reduction
- Needle exchange
- Drug checking
o Supervised consumption
o Engagement
o Policy & law reform
o Health services
NZ Zealand Needle Exchange Programme
First state sponsored NEP
HIV – 0.02%
Hep C – 60% (Varies across country)
21 NEP & 190 pharmacies
Distribute 3 million needles/year
“The times they are a
changing…”
Bob Dylan
o Major advances in drug policy reform
o Naloxone
o Hep C treatments
o Changing drug use patterns & trends
NZNEP
National Consistency Programme
Hep C services
Enhancing distribution networks
Reducing cost to people who inject drugs
Enhancing harm reduction services
Facebook, twitter
Website, smartphone app
Developments in the HCV arena
Reflections…
Drug Policy Reform
War on drugs preventing elimination of
HCV
Context in which we work – take up
challenge as citizens & professionals
Shift in resources from enforcement to
public health & harm reduction
Hep C absent at UNGASS
Ethics of treatment access
People who inject drugs
People who inject drugs
6 million infected HCV (1.6 million HIV)
Mobilisation of those affected
People who inject drugs critical to solution
Reflections continued…
Multifaceted solutions
Complex problem/challenge
Multi-pronged approach
Health, NEP, OST, prisons, AOD services
Partnership to access most at risk group
Aim to eliminate Hep C
Treatment and elimination
DAA’s not interferon
High success rates – 95%
8-12 weeks treatment
Access to testing and treatment – reduce
barriers
Adherence rates very high
No evidence to refuse treatment to
current users
Reflections continued…
Health risk behaviours
Other risk factors- cigarettes, alcohol, illicit
drug use, diet, physical activity
Co-ordinated care approach
NEP/OST access other behaviours
Shared experiences
Role of peers – shared stories
Support to access support and services
Challenge perceptions – not interferon
Address stigma and discrimination
Conclusions
Needle exchange front and centre of
response
Community based
Scale up testing
Scale up treatment
Scale up harm reduction
Work with prisons
