Category: General News

Illicit financial flows – the lifeblood of crime and corruption

Posted on by Milutin

Each year, millions of Euros of illicit financial flows (IFFs) circulate through the Western Balkans, despite significant government efforts to prevent this type of crime. The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI TOC) published the report Illicit financial flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. This report completes their study of illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the Western Balkans.

The focus this time is Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. IFFs are the mechanisms by which money earned illegally is transferred into and out of economies to criminal beneficiaries worldwide. Each year, large sums of money are transferred out of developing and transitioning economies. These are funds that could have been used for public and private goods: public services, investment or jobs. The whole society suffers as a result of their loss.

The recommendations from the report focus first of all on improving the visibility and data-sharing on IFFs, particularly in the financial sector and trade ‘channels’. Second, GI TOC encourage a far greater dialogue on IFFs in the region, focused on a clearer definition and with an explicit role for CSOs. Third, national IFF priorities should be agreed on, to ensure the responses are measured and meaningful, such as greater institutional information sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and updated AML frameworks for Montenegro and Serbia, with a particular focus on the construction sector. Fourth, the countries should also agree on and coordinate regional priorities, such as harmonization of measures to address tax evasion and a common policy to record and monitor beneficial ownership. Government anti-corruption activities need greater strength across the region. Finally, donor support for combating IFFs must be more closely aligned and coordinated to avoid duplication of effort.

The report in English is available following this link>>>.

Version in Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian is available following this link>>>.

 

Accompanying the report, GI TOC organises webinar on 26 Jan 2022 at 3 PM (CET). The webinar will stimulate a conversation around key issues of IFFs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia and the broader Western Balkans region. The event will feature insights from experts on the topic from the three focus countries as well as other experts on IFFs to look at the problem and effective responses to it.

To participate, register here>>>.

 

Expert update on drug-related infectious diseases

Posted on by Milutin

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) gathered the Drug-related infectious diseases (DRID) expert network to share the latest developments on drug-related infectious diseases in Europe and to identify steps needed to improve the production, availability and use of public health-oriented information at the European level.

The DRID network brings together national experts nominated by national focal points of the EU Member States, Norway and Turkey, as well as institutional partners (ECDC, WHO, Correlation). The meeting also welcomed experts from the Western Balkans (IPA7 project), the European Neighbourhood Policy countries (EU4MD project), Georgia, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Participating experts come from ministries of health, public health institutes, drugs agencies, health services, universities, research institutes and civil society.

The group held an online meeting on 26-27 October 2021, focusing on:

  • The direct impact of COVID-19 on people who use drugs and the COVID‑19 vaccination campaign among this group;
  • A review of recent HIV trends and outbreaks, as well as infectious endocarditis linked to injecting drug use with a focus on risk factors and control measures in place;
  • Country experiences in the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat among people who inject drugs (PWID) and related EMCDDA projects, with a focus on harm reduction and the continuum of care.

The report section on Outbreaks includes some interesting information from South East Europe.

In 2011, an HIV outbreak among PWID was detected in Athens, Greece (Paraskevis et al., 2011). After a combination of prevention and ‘seek-test-treat’ interventions were implemented (including scaled-up NSP, testing, linkage to AOT and antiretroviral treatment (ART), HIV incidence declined (Sypsa et al., 2017) from 7.8/100 person-years in 2012 to 1.7/100 person-years in 2013. However, preliminary data from the latest round of the ARISTOTLE study, conducted in 2018-20 (Roussos et al., 2021) among 681 PWID who were included in previous rounds, suggest that HIV prevalence increased from 14.2 % (2012-13) to 22 % (2018-20). While incidence estimates never returned to their 2011-12 levels, they ranged from 1.52 to 2.04/100 person-years, indicating ongoing transmission. The prevalence of homelessness (25.6 %) and cocaine injecting (28.1 %) had increased over the period. Predictors of seroconversion included lower education, larger network size and daily drug use. The authors concluded that the current level of prevention and treatment services was below levels that would be required to bring transmission down to pre-outbreak levels. They also noted that the COVID‑19 pandemic has severely impacted HIV prevention services for PWID, which could increase the risk of HIV transmission in this population. The study team conducted a similar study in Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in the country, where 1 101 PWID were recruited during 2019-20. They found high HIV incidence among the study population, suggesting that an outbreak was occurring at a time when COVID‑19 controls measures were in place. The authors highlighted that immediate interventions were required to control transmission.

Following the DRID meeting, national experts from three additional EU countries have reported signals of increased HIV transmission among people who use drugs. In Sofia, Bulgaria, reports indicate that the pandemic seems to have worsened a situation that was already deteriorating with respect to harm reduction funding. According to data from the laboratory at the State Psychiatric Hospital for Treatment of Drug Addiction and Alcoholism in Sofia, reported by the national expert, the positivity rate for HIV infection among PWID in the capital of Bulgaria was significantly higher in 2019-20 (12.8-14.5 %) than in the previous years (when positivity rates were between 3-6 %). A parallel increase in HBV positivity (HBsAg) was also noted from 2019 (5.9 %) to 2020 (7.6 %). This comes after the Global Fund ended its financial support to harm reduction services in 2017. It consequently led to a disruption in needle and syringe programmes, and a reduction by more than half in the number of PWID being tested annually. The National Centre of Public Health and Analysis is organising a meeting with stakeholders and decision-makers to initiate legal changes in order to ensure sustainable financial support for harm reduction services.

The national expert from Slovenia reported that, by November 2021, four new HIV diagnoses among PWID were reported to the National Institute of Public Health among a total number of 28 reported new HIV diagnoses during 2021. This raised concerns that HIV infections might have started to spread more during the COVID‑19 pandemic among PWID in the country. Since 1986, when HIV reporting became mandatory in Slovenia, a total of 29 HIV infections among PWID have been reported, and such a high number of cases (four) were reported only once before, in 1996. The importance of reaching a good coverage of harm reduction services for PWID was re-emphasised.

To read full report from this meeting and get the information from expert update, follow this link>>>.

 

European Web Survey on Drugs 2021

Posted on by Milutin

From the EMCDDA press release

The EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) published today results of the European Web Survey on Drugs. The survey ran between March and April 2021 in 30 countries (21 EU and 9 non-EU) when many populations were under COVID-19-related lockdowns. Targeted at people aged 18 and over who have used drugs, the survey aims to improve understanding of patterns of drug use in Europe and help shape future drug policies and interventions.

Close to 50 000 adults (48.469) responded to the survey from 21 EU Member States and Switzerland. Cannabis was the drug used most, with 93% of survey respondents reporting to have used it in the previous 12 months and with little variation between countries. MDMA/ecstasy (35%), cocaine (35%) and amphetamine (28%) were the next most reported illicit substances, with the order of the three drugs varying by country. Around a third of respondents (32%) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 42% using less MDMA/ecstasy.

The survey revealed that one fifth (20%) of the sample reported using LSD in the last year, 16% using new psychoactive substances (NPS) and 13% using ketamine. Heroin use was reported by 3% of respondents. Although the sample reporting heroin use was small, over a quarter of these respondents (26%) reported using this drug more during the period studied.

New to the 2021 round was the participation of the agency’s partners from the Western Balkans, through an EMCDDA technical assistance project (IPA7).

Over 2 000 adults (2 174) from Albania, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia responded to the survey. Most respondents (91%) reported using cannabis in the previous 12 months, followed by cocaine (38%), MDMA/ecstasy (22%) and amphetamine (20%). Again, around a third of respondents (32%) reported using more (herbal) cannabis and 34% using less MDMA/ecstasy.

Almost one in six (17%) respondents reported using NPS in the last year, while 9% reported use of LSD. Use of both heroin and methamphetamine was reported by 8% of respondents.

Home was reported as the most common setting for drug use during the period (85% of respondents in the EU-Switzerland survey and 72% in the Western Balkans), a pattern accentuated by COVID-19 lockdowns and closure of nightlife venues. Motivation for the use of different substances sheds some light on these results. The most commonly reported motivations for cannabis use were relaxation, getting high and aiding sleep, while for MDMA/ecstasy, they were its euphoric and socialising effects.

 

For more information, visit:

Continuous shrinking of the civic space for several years

Posted on by Milutin

The Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) reacted to the DG NEAR Consultations on the first regional call of the IPA Civil Society Facility (CSF) and Media Programme 2021-2023, published on 4 January 2022 on the TACSO website on behalf of the DG NEAR.

In times of declining freedoms, growing constraints to civil society operations in the enlargement countries, and continuous shrinking of the civic space for several years, confirmed by the most influential reports on the state of democracy, as well as the EC reports themselves, the highest priority of the regional call should have been supporting CSOs in protecting civic space and countering back democratic relapse.

BCSDN emphasizes that the EU should put a stronger focus on core and long-term support for CSOs rather than short-term project support. Instead of engaging costly international consultancies or intermediaries, the EU would support the work of CSOs grounded in knowledge of the local needs and challenges, committed to the long-term positive development of their societies.

The EU should show better recognition and consideration of the needs, positions and – even more so – the value of CSOs in the region, and start setting an example to the Western Balkan governments on what enabling meaningful participation of CSOs means.

In November 2021, the BCSDN issued the Non-Paper on the IPA III CSF and Media Programme 2021-2023. Several regional network, including DPNSEE, supported the non-paper.

The BCSDN reaction is available following this link>>>.

 

Reducing incarceration will reduce harm

Posted on by Milutin

The Harm Reduction International published the briefing The Harms of Incarceration: The evidence base and human rights framework for decarceration and harm reduction in prisons. It provides advocates with the evidence base and human rights framework for decarceration and the provision of harm reduction services in prisons.

The document provide evidence that:

  • The first step in reducing harm associated with incarceration is to reduce reliance on incarceration itself.
  • Providing harm reduction is a human rights obligation.
  • Harm reduction services in prisons are an essential, effective and safe public health measure.
  • People in prison are severely underserved by harm reduction services.

The highlights of the briefing inslude:

Over 11 million people are imprisoned worldwide today, the highest number ever recorded. One in five people in prison worldwide is held for drug offences, and 90% of people who inject drugs will be incarcerated at some point in their life. People in prison are at greater risk of HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and COVID-19. When they are released from prison, their risk of overdose increases by up to 69-times.

People in prison retain their human rights, which includes their right to health. By withholding health services such as harm reduction from them, states are violating this right. In some cases, withholding essential services like opioid agonist therapy amounts to torture. The UN Special Rapporteur on Health, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Nelson Mandela Rules on the treatment of prisoners all oblige states to provide health services in prisons.

Harm reduction works. Robust evidence shows that harm reduction services reduce transmission of HIV and viral hepatitis, reduce risk behaviours, reduce deaths from all causes, and can even reduce chances of people coming back to prison. This is why the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS and UN Office on Drugs and Crime all support harm reduction in prisons.

Even though states are obliged to provide the same standard of healthcare inside and outside prisons, when it comes to harm reduction, they do not do so. In nearly a third of countries where opioid agonist therapy is available, people in prison have no access. In 88% of countries where needle and syringe programmes operate, there are none in prisons. Even where services are available in prisons, there are frequently barriers that make them inaccessible in practice.

To read full briefing, follow this link>>>.

 

COVID-19 vaccinations for prison populations and staff

Posted on by Milutin

People in prison continue to be left behind in COVID-19 responses despite facing heightened risk of infection and illness due to cramped and unsanitary living conditions and lack of hygiene supplies in many detention facilities, as well as the poorer health status of prison populations compared to the general population. Even in countries with relatively high standards for places of detention, people detained and working in prisons have been infected and died of COVID-19. The latest available figures indicate that as of July 2021, over 575,000 cases have been recorded in prisons and over 4,000 people in prison have died in 47 countries due to COVID-19.

Penal Reform International (PRI) and Harm Reduction International (HRI) carried out the first ever global mapping of policies & practices related to COVID-19 vaccination in prisons across 177 countries.

This report presents the findings of global mapping of COVID-19 national vaccination plans and their roll-out in prisons. It provides analysis on how, and to what extent, prisons are included (and prioritised) in national vaccination plans, and documents the progress to-date in rolling out the vaccine in prisons. In doing so, this report sheds light on a critical aspect of COVID-19 responses in prisons, namely vaccinations, which are an important tool for ensuring that people deprived of liberty – who too often remain invisible to society and at risk of infection or in need of medical care – are not forgotten.

The report is available following this link>>>.

 

COVID-19 and Sex Workers/Sex Worker-led Organisations

Posted on by Milutin

As a criminalised population, sex workers have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, often living in precarious economic situations and excluded from social protection systems. The policy brief COVID-19 and Sex Workers/Sex Worker-led Organisations, produced by the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), includes feedback directly from sex worker-led organisations and sex workers on their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact upon access to services, supplies of HIV treatment, and prevention commodities. It also highlights how the already extremely limited funding available for both advocacy and programming for sex workers continues to shrink.

This brief documents how sex worker-led organisations supported sex workers where states failed to provide adequate assistance in their social protection mechanisms and emergency responses. Finally, this paper examines the threats to sex workers and sex worker-led organisations as the world emerges from the pandemic, looks at how we can mitigate the harms and prepare sex worker-led organisations for future crises, and asks what lessons can be learned that might strengthen advocacy for sex workers’ rights going forward.

You can download this Policy Brief followint this link>>>. It is also available in Russian, Chinese, French and Spanish.

 

A long-acting injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention approved

Posted on by Milutin

The United States Food and Drug Administration announced its first approval of a long-acting HIV prevention medication on 20 December 2021. The long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB – LA) is approved as a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for adults and adolescents who are at risk of acquiring HIV sexually in the United States of America. Apretude is given first as two initiation injections administered one month apart, and then every two months thereafter. Patients can either start their treatment with Apretude or take oral cabotegravir (Vocabria) for four weeks to assess how well they tolerate the drug.

This is the first time an injectable antiretroviral drug becomes available as a pre-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of HIV. The long-acting formula is a step forward and a valuable addition to the HIV prevention toolbox and will make acceptance and adherence easy.

Companies holding new technologies should share their knowledge and recipes with generic producers to ensure availability and affordability in low and middle-income countries. UNAIDS called for this new drug to quickly be made available and affordable to people who need it most not just in the United States of America but everywhere in the world. The mistakes of three decades ago when lifesaving drugs were only available to those who could afford it must not be repeated. Market strategies such as generic competition and public health-oriented management of intellectual property rights, either through voluntary agreements or the use of TRIPS flexibilities must be used to make this new drug widely available.

To make this drug available equitably across the world, a series of actions are essential. Firstly, the drug has to be approved by regional and national regulatory authorities in a speedy manner. It is encouraging to see that the developer of CAB-LA, has already submitted to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for approval and an outcome is expected in early 2022. However access must go much further. Secondly the selling price must come down through a combination of measures such as licencing and involvement of generic producers. Thirdly, national HIV prevention programmes must prepare roll out plans and prepare their health systems and communitiues to deploy this new HIV prevention option as soon as they are available.

Current pre-exposure prohylaxis – Tenofovir plus Emtricitabine – tablets have to be taken daily as oral PrEP. They are highly effective in preventing HIV acquisition among persons at substantial risk when taken as prescribed. However many find it challenging to take a daily tablet. Another option – dapiviringe vaginal ring – is becoming available as additional prevention option for women at substantial risk of HIV infection.

The CAB-LA option could be a game-changer for the HIV response, making PrEP simpler or less burdensome for all genders. This may also circumvent the stigma associated with daily oral therapy and improve correct dosing and adherence which is critical for PrEP effectiveness.

Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course

Posted on by Milutin

The International Dug Policy Consortium (IDPC) in partnership with Mainline, Health[e]Foundation and Frontline AIDS designed the Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course to support and equip partners from around the world to advocate for the decriminalisation of drug use and personal possession.

The Course includes seven modules:

  1. Introduction, definitions and support for decriminalisation (Available in English and French)
  2. Existing models of decriminalisation (Available in English and French)
  3. Making the case for decriminalisation (Available in English and French)
  4. Designing decriminalisation – part 1: selecting the model of decriminalisation (Available in English)
  5. Designing decriminalisation – part 2: defining drug possession for personal use (Forthcoming)
  6. Designing decriminalisation – part 3: sanctions and intrusiveness (Forthcoming)
  7. The ‘gold standard’ for decriminalisation (Forthcoming)

Ahead of the December break, I share the good news that Module 4 was presented. It is the first of three modules delving into the complex and important challenge of designing decriminalisation models, addressing key issues such as the model’s normative basis and key decision-makers.

This e-course was designed to strengthen our movement’s capacity to advance effective and full decriminalisation and is entirely free.

To register and access the course click here>>>.