THE NEED FOR HARM REDUCTION

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THE NEED FOR HARM REDUCTION

• THE SITUATION IN BULGARIA
• Bulgarian DU Activism

Milena Naydenova Hope-Sofia
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THE BENEFITS FROM HARM REDUCTION

• THE BENEFITS FROM HARM REDUCTION FOR DU
• THE BENEFITS FROM HARM REDUCTION FOR SOCIETY

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CHEAPER THAN ANY OTHER DRUG POLICY AND THE ONLY
ONE THAT LEADS TO REAL POSITIVE RESULTS

• Incarceration of DU is 10 times more expensive
  than the methadone treatment
• Youngsters are IN THE SOCIETY, instead of being
  provided BY THE SOCIETY
• Maintaining programs decrease the rates of drug
  use and the number of drug users

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• Maintaining treatments substantially reduce the
  rates of injecting drug use and consequently
  (together with the NEP) the spread of
  blood-born diseases, including Hep. C and HIV /
  AIDS
• Substantially decreases the drug related crimes
• Strikes a serious economic blow over the
  organized crime, and consequently decreases the
  corruption at highest political levels

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• THE CURRENT SITUATION
• IN THE FIELD OF DRUGS
• IN BULGARIA

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LEGISLATION

• Less than a month ago the Bulgarian law on drugs
  was finally changed. It lead to
• Almost epidemiological spread of HIV among DU
  community and especially among the DU from the
  Roma minority
• Decreased substantially the effectiveness of the
  NEP, as the DU went deep underground
• Tremendous increase of the corruption in the
  police, the investigation, and the court, which
  became obvious even for the general public

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• Increase in the prisons population
• Thousands of cases against youngsters, arrested
  and charged with a possession of a narcotic
  substance that costs less than an EUR 1,
  thousands of young ruined lives and millions to
  the tax payers
• AT THE SAME TIME NEITHER OF THE
• AIMED GOALS
• WAS UNDOUBTEDLY ACHIEVED!

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• The newly enacted law on drugs
• What provides
• for possession for personal use 0-5 years
  imprisonment, and / or probation, and / or a
  fine
• Main flaws
• again the only option is a criminal trial instead
  of an administrative violation
• there are neither specified quantities, no
  differentiation of the drugs. Everything is
  measured by its street price
• the regulations are not clear enough

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NATIONAL POLICY

• National strategy on drugs very expensive, well
  designed, but unrealistic, inapplicable, and
  obviously never meant to be implemented.
• The medical health care system too centralized,
  too bureaucratic, and above all - the health
  insurances do not cover neither drug related
  health problem.
• Social and health governmental programs for ex DU
  or people on maintaining treatmentsTHERE ARE
  NOT ANY

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HARM REDUCTION PROGRAMS

• TREATMENT PROGRAMS
• free state programs 3 maintaining programs in 3
  towns with 550 slots altogether, one inpatient
  clinic with 20 beds for more than 50,000
  problematic injecting heroin users (NCAs data)
  
• COMPLETELY INSUFFICIENT
• private treatment programs and practices
  financially unaffordable for the average
  Bulgarian families. No real competition, no
  governmental agency to control their prices
• NOT ENOUGH EFFICIENT

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• SERVICE PROVIDING PROGRAMS
• the few NGOs that introduced harm reduction in
  Bulgaria around a decade ago they still work
  most efficiently
• the artificially created NGOs, by people, close
  to the Ministry of Health officials, after the
  big donors had entered Bulgaria most of these
  programs need either reorganizing, or to be
  closed in favor of the efficiently working once.

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OUR MAIN CONCERNS

• The corruption at middle and higher levels
• There is neither a social agency, nor a public
  body, which to control the work of the
  institutions. Only the public control could
  increase the efficiency of their work but the
  organizing of such a body / coalition has been
  hardened and prevented by any legal means
• No real competition in the private therapeutic
  programs and practices
• There neither a governmental, nor a public
  agency, which to control the prices in the
  private therapeutic programs and practices

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• The officials often refuse information to NGOs
  that are not under their protection, or give one
  that is out-of-date
• The officials often defend somebodys personal
  interests, as well as their own
• Much more slots in the financially affordable and
  the free treatment programs are desperately
  needed
• Service providing programs do not take DU in
  their teams.

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H O P E - S O F I A

• Hope-Sofia is a 100 non-profit organization and
  the only working drug users organization in
  Bulgaria we survive through donors
• Hope-Sofia was registered in January, 2004 as a
  foundation in public disposal, while DU activism
  in Bulgaria started at first in 2000.
• WHAT WE DOin 3 words advocacy, information,
  educationthat eventually would result in
  acceptance, better self-esteem,
  (re-)socialization.

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• T H A N K Y O U!