Kapurthala, 30 May: A two days National Consultation for women who use drugs in India concluded to an end today at Kapurthala’s Civil Hospital based NavJeevan Drug Deaddiction Centre.
The consultation brought together women members and advocates of the Indian Drug Users Forum a community led network of people who use drugs and advocate for the health, right and well being of their peers.
This included women beneficiaries and advocates from over 13 states of India with high prevalence of drug use driven HIV, viral hepatitis and overdose which contribute to high morbidity and mortality amongst the drug using populations of India.
The “Magnitude of Substance Use in India- 2019” report launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in February 2019 amongst others, underscores the urgency to intervene amongst women who use drugs as a priority in India.
At the consultation, the Government of Punjab led by the Chief of Special Task Force Gurpreet Deo gave an eloquent speech and gave assurances on behalf of her department and the Government of Punjab to ensure a health and human rights based approach building on interdepartmental synergies to address the drug use related health and social concerns in Punjab.
She highlighted that because unique problems require unique solutions, people – including specially women – do not surrender their rights simply because they use, produce or become involved with illicit drugs – yet it has been well documented that drug laws and their enforcement around the world can result in multiple forms of human rights abuses which can contribute to higher incidences of HIV, HCV, overdose and other diseases that contribute to mortality and morbidity amongst people who use drugs.
She cited good examples from Punjab of Law Enforcement, civil society, community and public health partnerships as a model for replication elsewhere and congratulated Dr Sandeep Bhola and his team for the commendable work at Kapurthala.
Gurpreet Deo also appreciated the efforts of India HIV/AIDS Alliance and thanked them for choosing Kapurthala as the model intervention site. At the meeting, other dignitaries from the Punjab Government included DPS Kharbanda DC Kapurthala, Satinder Singh SSP Kapurthala, Varinder Pal Singh SDM Kapurthala and Dr Balwant Singh Civil Surgeon Kapurthala.
Besides the technical sessions the participants were also given a tour of the facility and taken to the Jalandhar (at Kaputhala) model prison which is one of the few such prisons where both HIV and OST services were provided to women who use drugs.
The participants shared that it was for the first time that they witnessed a programme that provided 8 of the 9 harm reduction services being provided under one roof and in prisons. One of the participants summed up the learning’s as “there are many lessons to be learnt, there is much more to be done still and it is important to ensure that the community of people who use drugs are meaningfully engaged in the process”
Kunal Kishore Associate Director of Alliance India earlier made a presentation of the project and highlighted that “as we move forward to ensure that women irrespective of where they may be community, institutions and/or prisons – have access to all the harm reduction services .
He further said we are working towards ensuring this in Punjab and the project is being possible because of the leadership and efforts of Punjab Government’s Ministry of Health, Special Task force, Sandeep Bhola his brilliant team and the community of people who use drugs who are leading the change we wish to see .
He specially thanked Satish Chandra, Additional Chief Secretary Health, Government of Punjab who provided necessary guidance, leadership and support which made it possible for the project to see the light of the day.
He explained that India HIV/AIDS Alliance is the Principle Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund regional Harm Reduction Advocacy in Asia project (2017-2019) that involves 7 countries in Asia (India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and the Philippines).
The project aims to maximize impact of investments that help break the cycle of transmission of HIV among PWID in concentrated epidemics by addressing legal, policy and health system barriers that hinder necessary outreach, coverage and access to core services through community system strengthening.
He highlighted that as part of this project an indigenous strategy building on indigenous experiences and science will inform a comprehensive package of services for women who use drugs in India which will serve as a basis for replicating the experience in other Asian countries supported through the project.
The consultation ended with a discussion on the actionable next steps led by Charanjit Sharma Technical Advisor of India HIV/AIDS Alliance and a vote of thanks by Ms. Ira Madan Regional Advocacy Officer at India HIV/AIDS Alliance.
