Tag: Prevent

Instructions on coronavirus in Serbian

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Together with our member organisations Prevent and Re Generation, DPNSEE have prepared information and instructions for protection against coronavirus in Serbian for people in risk from vulnerable populations we support. We used several sources: INPUD, Leafly, Crew and BesD.

The instructions are printed in 500 – 2.000 copies to share to the key populations.

These instructions will be available in various institutions and civil society organisations in Serbia. We expect that they will be adjusted to local languages in some other countries of South East Europe.

General harm reduction tips for people who use drugs
General prevention measures against coronavirus COVID-19
Instructions for people who take drugs snorting
Instructions for people who use cannabis
Instructions for people who go clubbing
Instructions for sex workers

Together against coronavirus

Posted on by Milutin

On the initiative from civil society organisations, following the DPNSEE Public appeal to protect vulnerable groups from coronavirus COVID-19, a meeting was called by the Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of Republic of Serbia to discuss the measures to protect people who use drugs and other connected vulnerable groups. The meeting was held on 13 March with representatives of the Office, Ministry of Health, Special Hospital for Addictions and four civil society organisations.

All participants agreed that vulnerable groups need to be supported for their personal and protection of the entire society. Conclusions include

  • By noon on Monday 16 all service providers will send estimations of their needs for materials they need to protect the key populations they serve and their staff. The Office for Combating Drugs will collect them and send a joint request to the Ministry of social affairs. Once they are provided, they will be distributed to the organisations.
  • The Office will also request for an information about the needs of the shelters for children, young people and elderly and try to organise support to them.
  • Funds for the additional support will be requested from the project supported by the Global Fund and Ministry of Health, at least for the staff supporting the key affected populations.
  • Civil society organisations are preparing specific instructions for people who use drugs and other vulnerable populations and share them both through social networks and printed materials.

 

Strategic planning to improve sustainability of HIV prevention services

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The Alliance for Public Health engaged a group of experts to perform a brief assessment of the latest experiences in the Serbia on financing civil society organisations with national funds, including the Global Fund national grant, and to plan on the national level for the sustainability strategy and concrete steps.

The experts visited Serbia from 16 to 20 December and held a serial of meetings with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Health Insurance Fund, CSOs and other stakeholders. At the last day of the mission, the concluding stakeholder consultation with presentation of preliminary findings was conducted.

The visit was organized by DPNSEE member organization Timočki omladinski centar, who is the national lead of the multi-country project implemented by the consortium led by the Alliance. Representatives of DPNSEE and our other member organisations Prevent and Duga also contributed at the meetings.

Regional conference on youth at risk

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The regional conference on youth at risk, the closing event of the project “At-Risk Youth Social Empowerment“, was held in Podgorica, Montenegro on 10 – 11 December 2019. The project was supported by the European Union and implemented by consortium of six organizations from six Western Balkan countries: Juventas (project coordinator, Montenegro), ARSIS (Albania), Association Margina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), HOPS (Macedonia), NGO Labyrinth (Kosovo), Prevent (Serbia).

The conference aimed to examine results of the implementing reforms as well as remaining challenges in the field of social policies focusing on youth at risk. Within the scope of this project, youth at risk category includes young people using drugs, young people in conflict with the law, youth without parental care, young Roma, youth with street experience, youth living in families with history of using drugs or/and conflict with the law.

The conference gathered policy officials, researchers, service providers, civil society activists and members of the academia from the region of Western Balkan and Europe to discuss current social position of different youth at risk categories and main obstacles for better social integration. Guests and speakers included Nikola Janović, Minister of Sports and Youth, Government of Montenegro and representatives of the ministries of Health, Education, Justice and Labour and Social Welfare, Fiona McCluney, resident coordinator, UN system Montenegro, Michaela Bauer, UNICEF’s Deputy Representative for Montenegro and Ana Margarida Tome De Freitas Mariguesa, European Delegation to Montenegro, among others.

One of the main topics was related to the social services in terms of their quality, regional availability, process of monitoring and evaluation. Also, the conference was the opportunity to explore current state of the cooperation between public administration and civil society in the process of service provision. Different modes of cooperation were discussed including examples of good practice with the aim to identifying cooperation models that can have best possible results. The sustainability of the social services was one of the topics.

A very emotional moment of the conference was screening of the movie “Where is the home?” which was produced with the support from the project. The movie presents personal stories of two young man who grew up in a home for children and youth without parental care.

Representatives of the DPNSEE member organisations were active throughout the conference. Board members Nebojša Đurasović and Denis Dedajić were panellists, while Executive Director Milutin Milošević moderated one of the panels.

A publication about our project

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In the last decade, an increasing number of donors are withdrawing their support for healthcare. This has been especially true for middle-income countries, where the growth of domestic resources was one of the triggers for donor funding reduction. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) has termed this process as “transition”.

In 2018 the Open Society Foundations, through the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), initiated the project Budget Advocacy and Monitoring in countries of South East Europe. It provided funding to three transitioning countries in the Balkan region – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia – through the sub-regional network organization, Drug Policy Network South East Europe (DPNSEE), to support budget advocacy for harm reduction services. The local coordinating organisations are Margina, Juventas and Prevent.

The case study looks at the implementation of this project as one of the demonstrations of the SBF mechanism, with the objectives to:

  • Document the pilot in 3 Balkan countries and to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of this approach and to develop suggestions for improvement; and,
  • Document the results, successes, and challenges of the budget advocacy projects supported through this approach.

Our project serves as a pilot for the Sustainability Bridge Funding (SBF), an idea that has been discussed among donors and civil society organizations as a way of mitigating the negative effects of transition and in providing support for key essential services for communities and key populations. As a safety net mechanism, it should respond to gaps in funding and mitigate adverse effects of donor funding withdrawal.

Please find the document following this link>>>

Budget analysis presented in Serbia

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The budget analysis in Serbia was completed and presented on an event organised jointly by Prevent and DPNSEE in the EU Info Centre in Belgrade on 1 October 2019. The analysis was prepared in scope of the project Budget Advocacy and Monitoring in countries of South East Europe by the team of consultants engaged by Prevent.

The surveys were of a meta-analytic nature, conducted on data and information obtained on the basis of publicly available documents published by state bodies: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, the Customs Administration and the Agency for Business Registers.

The aim of the research was to explore the status and trends of program financing in order to find opportunities and solutions for securing funds for their sustainability.

The analysis clearly shows a continuous decrease in the allocation of funds for preventive health care, regardless of whether the total budget of the Ministry is increased or decreased and whether the budget of the Ministry of Health occupies a higher or lower percentage in the national budget for a given year. The most significant finding is the constantly present difference in the planned and executed budget – the allocated/spent funds are continuously reduced compared to those planned.

The Analysis of the budgets in Serbia is available following this link>>>

Besides the analysis of the budget of the Ministry of Health which was produced, DPNSEE has prepared and presented an analysis of the public calls for prevention of the Ministry of Health. This analysis is available following this link>>>.

 

Regional training for the ARYSE Advocacy Network

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Within the project “Strengthening young people at risk of social exclusion“, a regional training of the ARYSE (At-Risk Youth Social Empowerment) Network for advocacy for the promotion of children and young people at risk was held from 5 to 7 July in Bar, Montenegro.

The project is being implemented in six countries from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo*, Northern Macedonia and Serbia) and aims to contribute to the social inclusion of the larger part of the young people at risk at the regional level, by strengthening the capacities of civil society organizations, regional/national cooperation and advocacy activities.

This training was intended for representatives of the implementing organizations and representatives of the national working groups established within the project. The idea of ​​the training was that the members of the working group and representatives of the organizations form a regional advocacy body which will continue to function after the completion of the project.

During the training, the participants worked to develop a common platform on which they would base their future work on young people at risk. During the training, the participants worked to develop an advocacy plan for all target groups covered by the project: Street youth, Youth who use drugs, Youth in conflict with law, Youth without parental care, Young Roma and Youth from families with history of drug use and/or conflict with law.

The regional body would aim to continue to promote the results of the ARYSE project and to advocate for appropriate guidance created through this project. In addition, the regional body would continuously work on the exchange of information and good practices and the improvement of policies related to young people at risk and the availability of the services designed for them.

The project is implemented by the NGO Juventas (Montenegro), the Association “Prevent” (Serbia), the Association Margina (BiH), ARSIS (Albania), HOPS (Macedonia), Labyrinth (Kosovo) and the Foundation CHL (Germany).

The network of the mentioned organizations that implements activities are aimed at contributing to active participation in the social and social processes of young people from the Western Balkan countries who are at the highest risk of social exclusion.

Public event at the city beach of Novi Sad

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On the Global Day of Action 26 June, Association Prevent held a public event at the main plateau of the city beach “Štrand” in Novi Sad. The event was supported by the City Health Administration, International drug Policy Consortium and OPENS 2019 – The Youth Capital of Europe.

People visiting had an opportunity to get their photos from a photo booth, get information about the campaign, discuss and get advice from the Prevent activists. Children enjoyed the original game “Ne radi se čoveče”. Members of the New Point of Culture drew graffiti with the campaign messages and also messages which visitors gave.

Prevent also prepared a Facebook frames for profile photos and published infographics with campaign messages and other educational materials.

Watch videos made during the event in Novi Sad …

Podrži. Ne kažnjavaj. – After

Udruženje “Prevent” 26. juna, na glavnom platou Štranda, sprovelo je javnu akciju pod sloganom “Podrži. Ne kažnjavaj”. Ovu aktivnost podržali su Gradska uprava za zdravstvo Grada Novog Sada, International Drug Policy Consortium i OPENS 2019 – Omladinska prestonica Evrope Novi Sad​. Cilj projekta je doprineti unapređenju stepena bezbednosti i smanjenju stepena diskriminacije mladih u riziku od socijalnog isključivanja, kroz promovisanje različitosti i edukaciju u Novom Sadu tokom 2018. i 2019. godine."Support. Don't Punish." je međunarodna kampanja koja ima za cilj da raširi svest o negativnim posledicama rata protiv droga i promoviše politiku poštovanja ljudskih prava i zaštite javnog zdravlja, da menja zakone i politike koje onemogućavaju pristup intevencijama smanjenja štete (eng. harm reduction) i drugim servisima zasnovanim na naučnim dokazima, kao i da zaustavi kriminalizaciju korisnika drog. Posetioci javne akcije su se fotografisali u selfi kabini, i poneli poklon gotografije za uspomenu, informisali o kampanji i razgovarali sa članovima Udruženja „Prevent”. Najmlađi su igrali igricu „Ne radi se, čoveče“. Tokom trajanja akcije članovi NPC-New Point of Culture nacrtali su grafite sa porukama kampanje, ali i poruke posetilaca. U okviru kampanje nastali su i ramovi za profilne fotografije na Fejsbuku, a tokom prethodnih 10 dana su objavljeni infografici sa informativnim i edukativnim podacima.Omladinska prestonica Evrope je titula koju je dobio Grad Novi Sad za 2019. godinu. Titulu nosi grad, ali ona pripada svim njegovim stanovnicima od 15te do 30te godine. A, OPENS – Omladniska Prestonica Evrope Novi Sad je Savez udruženja koji je tu da, zajedno sa svojim partnerima sprovodi program na osnovu kojih je Novi Sad nosilac laskave titule. OPENS2019 je u 2018. godini, konkursom izabrao 42 organizacije, koje sprovode 46 programskih aktivnosti iz aplikacije na osnovu koje je Novi Sad i postao Omladinska prestonica Evrope 2019. godine. Tim aktivnostima će samo u 2018. godini biti obuhvaćeno 75.000 mladih, dok će za tri godine biti uključeno preko pola miliona mladih iz cele Evrope.Projekat se finansira iz budžeta Ministarstva kulture i informaisanja, Pokrajinskog sekretarijata za sport i omladinu AP Vojvodine i Grada Novog Sada.#supportdontpunish #podrzinekaznjavaj #OPENS2019 #mojopeNS #EYC2019 #prevent

Gepostet von Prevent am Dienstag, 2. Juli 2019

… and

Podrži. Ne kažnjavaj.

Video nastao tokom akcije ”Podrži. Ne kažnjavaj.” Selfi kabina se usijala na vrelom letnjem danu slikajući radoznale posetioce.Udruženje “Prevent” 26. juna, na glavnom platou Štranda, sprovelo je javnu akciju pod sloganom “Podrži. Ne kažnjavaj”. Ovu aktivnost podržali su Gradska uprava za zdravstvo Grada Novog Sada, International Drug Policy Consortium i OPENS 2019 – Omladinska prestonica Evrope Novi Sad​. Cilj projekta je doprineti unapređenju stepena bezbednosti i smanjenju stepena diskriminacije mladih u riziku od socijalnog isključivanja, kroz promovisanje različitosti i edukaciju u Novom Sadu tokom 2018. i 2019. godine.“Support. Don't Punish.” je međunarodna kampanja koja ima za cilj da raširi svest o negativnim posledicama rata protiv droga i promoviše politiku poštovanja ljudskih prava i zaštite javnog zdravlja, da menja zakone i politike koje onemogućavaju pristup intevencijama smanjenja štete (eng. harm reduction) i drugim servisima zasnovanim na naučnim dokazima, kao i da zaustavi kriminalizaciju korisnika droga.Posetioci javne akcije su se fotografisali u selfi kabini, i poneli poklon gotografije za uspomenu, informisali o kampanji i razgovarali sa članovima Udruženja „Prevent”. Najmlađi su igrali igricu „Ne radi se, čoveče“. Tokom trajanja akcije članovi NPC-New Point of Culture nacrtali su grafite sa porukama kampanje, ali i poruke posetilaca. U okviru kampanje nastali su i ramovi za profilne fotografije na Fejsbuku, a tokom prethodnih 10 dana su objavljeni infografici sa informativnim i edukativnim podacima.Omladinska prestonica Evrope je titula koju je dobio Grad Novi Sad za 2019. godinu. Titulu nosi grad, ali ona pripada svim njegovim stanovnicima od 15te do 30te godine. A, OPENS – Omladniska Prestonica Evrope Novi Sad je Savez udruženja koji je tu da, zajedno sa svojim partnerima sprovodi program na osnovu kojih je Novi Sad nosilac laskave titule. OPENS2019 je u 2018. godini, konkursom izabrao 42 organizacije, koje sprovode 46 programskih aktivnosti iz aplikacije na osnovu koje je Novi Sad i postao Omladinska prestonica Evrope 2019. godine. Tim aktivnostima će samo u 2018. godini biti obuhvaćeno 75.000 mladih, dok će za tri godine biti uključeno preko pola miliona mladih iz cele Evrope.Projekat se finansira iz budžeta Ministarstva kulture i informaisanja, Pokrajinskog sekretarijata za sport i omladinu AP Vojvodine i Grada Novog Sada.#supportdontpunish #podrzinekaznjavaj #OPENS2019 #mojopeNS #EYC2019 #prevent

Gepostet von Prevent am Sonntag, 30. Juni 2019

The Support. Don’t Punish campaign launched in South East Europe

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For the launch of the Global Day of Action, DPNSEE organised a “Kick-off event” to start the campaign in South East Europe. The event was held in the EU Info Centre in Belgrade, Kralja Milana 7, on 19 June 2019.

Besides journalists, representatives of colleague civil society organisations, UN agencies, Office for combating drugs and political parties were present.

Representatives of the Network presented the key findings from baseline research on “Documenting Drug Related Cases of Discrimination”. This small scale research aims on raising awareness on existing discrimination in different areas of everyday life, map the situation and make a base for the further advocacy actions in decreasing stigma and discrimination towards people who use drugs.

DPNSEE also presented the proposal for decriminalisation of drug use and possession made to the Working group on changes to the Criminal Law in Serbia. The proposal was submitted to the Working Group for amendments to the Criminal Law but unfortunately was not supported.

DPNSEE member organisation Prevent presented results of the regional project “Budget Advocacy Monitoring in South East Europe” in Serbia. That included analysis of the national budgets for 4 last years with a specific focus on health and harm reduction, execution of the budget and excises, and the Declaration for sustainable national response to HIV.

Re Generation presented the results of their research “How the closing of the needle exchange programs affected the access to harm reduction services in two cities – Belgrade and Budapest“.

Finally, DPNSEE representatives presented the activities in the region in scope of the Support. Don’t Punish campaign.

To find out what is planned in your city or country, follow this link>>>

To see more about the campaign worldwide, follow this link>>>

Porto welcomes the 26th Harm Reduction International Conference

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The 26th Harm Reduction International Conference (HR19) will be held in Porto, Portugal from 28 April to 1 May 2019. The Conference is organised by the Harm Reduction International and Agência Piaget para o Desenvolvimento (APDES) – a Portuguese non-profit association promoting sustainable development.

 

 

 

 

 

Held once every two years in a different country around the world, the Harm Reduction International Conference is the only global meeting for knowledge-sharing, networking, and discussion of best practices in the field of harm reduction. The last conference in Montreal in 2017 was attended by more than 1000 delegates from over 70 countries, including medical and policy experts, harm reduction practitioners, campaigners, and people who use drugs.

On Tuesday 30 April, at the Concurrent 16: Lost in Transition: Harm Reduction in Central and Eastern Europe, our Yuliya Georgieva from the Center for Humane Policy will speak about, Lost in Transition-Bulgaria struggling to ensure harm reduction activities after Global Fund withdraw while Nebojša Đurasović will present The only one harm reduction program that survived in Serbia – Experience of the Association Prevent.

Those who shall participate in the Conference are very much welcome to join this session.

The programme of the Conference is available following this link>>>