What is harm reduction?
Harm reduction is a realistic and comprehensive public health approach that has successfully addressed drug-related harms the world over. The particular success of harm reduction has been in reducing the spread of HIV, which can be transmitted through the sharing of contaminated injecting equipment.
Harm reduction programs have evolved over a long period, and have been extensively researched and evaluated. Harm reduction is not a ‘fad’, nor is it here to replace other approaches – it sits comfortably with supply and demand reduction strategies.
Harm reduction involves a range of approaches all aimed at reducing the harmful consequences of drug use for both individuals and for the general community, without necessarily stopping or reducing drug use – though aiming for abstinence from drug use is not incompatible with harm reduction goals.
Harm reduction services
Harm reduction services are provided to injecting drug users to help stop the spread of HIV. They include:
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- substitution therapy (methadone or buprenorphine)
- clean injecting equipment (needle syringe exchange programs)
- condom distribution
You may know of other harm reduction strategies that are applied to reduce the harm associated with alcohol, tobacco and prescribed medications.
Harm reduction and HIV
Harm reduction acknowledges that no method to eliminate drug use is entirely successful, and that HIV presents a more urgent and serious global threat than drug use itself. Without harm reduction interventions the potential for HIV to spread throughout the world – among drug injectors, and from them to others in the community – would be devastating.
Harm reduction in Australia
There is probably no better success story about how immensely successful harm reduction has proven to be in reducing the prevalence of HIV in a community than that experienced in Australia. Australian HIV rates have been consistently low in the last 20 years since the introduction of harm reduction programs in the 1980’s.
For more information about the success of harm reduction in the prevention of HIV and other harms associated with drug use go to the website of the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA): http://www.ihra.net/
