UNGASS summary roundtable 1 on demand reduction

Interventions drew attention to a spectrum of evidence-based interventions that are being implemented with success and that need to be scaled up, including education and prevention of drug use, accessible services to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C, other blood-borne diseases and overdose (for example naloxone), psychosocial and pharmacological treatment, as well as rehabilitation services with a view to recovery. It was mentioned that special attention should be paid to reach, and provide services, to particularly vulnerable groups including women, children, youth, people with co-morbid mental health disorders and people in prison settings.

In addition, the necessity of providing health and social care, treatment, reintegration and recovery-oriented services to drug users as an alternative to criminal justice sanctions was emphasized.

Further, problems including the non- medical use of prescription drugs were mentioned by several delegations, as well as, in one case, the need to develop treatment and harm reduction options for stimulant users.

A number of speakers stressed that the science and economic arguments to support countries to end AIDS among people who use drugs by 2030 were available. Reference was made to the fact that national drug policies and strategies were to be grounded in science, public health, human rights and gender responsiveness. Addressing stigma and discriminations against people who use drugs; developing alternatives to criminalization for drug use and possession for personal use; and urgent scaling up of harm reduction services, particularly opioid substitution therapy, needle syringe programme and antiretroviral therapy, as defined by WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS in the Technical Guide 2012, in the community and in prison settings, were also mentioned. It was further mentioned that these measures need to be matched by allocation, both domestic and international, of resources based on prioritization and efficiency.

Finally, many speakers reiterated their commitment under the three international drug control conventions to ensuring the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion, misuse and abuse. It was recognized that there was a high degree of discrepancy between high, and low- and middle- income countries in terms of ensuring availability for medical and scientific purposes, including pain management and palliative care. In this context, reference was made to the value of a multi- sectorial approach in addressing existing barriers and in alleviating the pain and needless suffering of patients.