 Dr. Aung Yu Naing from AHRN at HR19. Photo: Community Partners International In the run-up to today’s International Harm Reduction Day, the 26th International Harm Reduction Conference (HR19) in Porto, Portugal, came to a close on May 1, 2019. With support from the USAID HIV/AIDS Flagship (UHF) Project, colleagues from Médecins du Monde (MdM), Medical Action Myanmar (MAM), Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN), and Community Partners International (CPI) had the opportunity to attend the biannual conference.
 A medical doctor leads a health education session for women at a Drop-In Center in Kachin State. Photo courtesy of Médecins du Monde To mark International Women’s Day 2019, we look at innovative approaches to reaching hidden female drug users and female intimate partners of men who inject drugs in Kachin State, Myanmar, with health care and harm reduction services.
 Photo: Htun Lynn Zaw for Community Partners International Daw Theint Su, a peer educator at Population Services International’s (PSI) TOP Centers (formerly the Targeted Outreach Program), has been living with HIV since 2003. Here she shares her experiences and talks about her work supporting HIV education and prevention.
 U Myint Thein Win. Photo: Shin Daewe for Community Partners International In cities in Kachin State, HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) is nearly 50%.[1] To reduce transmission of HIV and other viruses through the sharing of contaminated needles and syringes, Metta Development Foundation (Metta) is working to increase access to harm reduction services such as the Needle Syringe Exchange Program (NSEP) at drop-in center locations. Harm reduction "is an evidence-based approach to HIV prevention, treatment and care for people who inject drug[s]," and is part of a wider strategy to address the high HIV prevalence among PWID in Kachin State. These services are supported by the USAID HIV/AIDS Flagship (UHF) Project, funded by USAID under PEPFAR through UNAIDS Myanmar with project implementation support and management to partner organizations. provided by Community Partners International (CPI).
In rural communities in Kachin State, people who inject drugs (PWID) and people who use drugs (PWUD) often face stigma and ostracization. This makes it much harder for them to access harm reduction and recovery services. Harm reduction "is an evidence-based approach to HIV prevention, treatment and care for people who inject drug[s]," and is part of a wider strategy to address the high HIV prevalence among PWID/PWUD in Kachin State. Through the USAID HIV/AIDS Flagship (UHF) Project, Community Partners International (CPI) is supporting local partner Metta Development Foundation (Metta) to help PWID/PWUD engage in community volunteering projects to broaden community perceptions and increase understanding and acceptance of harm reduction services.
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August 2019
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