FDS Insight Magazine Nov - Dec 2022

12 The global state of harm reduction 2022 Harm Reduction International, hri.global (2022) Main findings  92 countries have needle and syringe programmes  87 countries offer opioid agonist therapy  16 countries have drug consumption rooms  105 counties support harm reduction in their national policies Introduction The Global State of Harm Reduction is the only report that provides an independent analysis of harm reduction in the world. Now in its the eighth edition, the Global State of Harm Reduction 2022 is the most comprehensive global mapping of harm reduction responses to drug use, HIV and viral hepatitis. This edition includes:  Forewords by UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, and Ukranian community representative, Anton Basenko.  Data on the availability of safer smoking kits & stimulant pharmacotherapy, for the first time.  A chapter on the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on harm reduction.  Data on the number of people who inject drugs and the number of people in prison for drug use globally.  Key legal/policy developments related to harm reduction and drug policy. Harm reduction is stronger in 2022 The period from 2020 to 2022 has seen increased uptake of harm reduction interventions. For the first time since 2014, the Global State of Harm Reduction has found an increase in the number of countries implementing key harm reduction services. This growth has been driven by new needle and syringe programmes (NSPs) opening in five African countries as well as four new countries having officially sanctioned drug consumption rooms (DCRs). This includes a site in Mexico that had been operating without formal approval since 2018 but now has approval from local authorities. Three countries have introduced opioid agonist therapy (OAT) for the first time. No country has stopped the implementation of NSP, OAT or DCRs since 2020. The number of countries providing naloxone on a take-home basis and through peer-distribution models has