Category: News from Member Organisations

Launch of the NextGen Harm Reduction Online Learning Platform

Posted on by DPNSEE

Our colleagues from Re Generation are pleased to invite you to the regional online workshop dedicated to the launch and presentation of the digital learning platform developed within the NextGen Harm Reduction (NEHRD): Tackling the Challenge of Emerging Psychoactive Drugs project, implemented in partnership with organizations from GAT from Portugal, ARAS from Romania, HOPS from North Macedonia, and Re Generation from Serbia, under the Erasmus+ programme.

This regional event is organized in cooperation with Drug Policy Network South East Europe, reflecting both the strong involvement of the project partners within the network and our shared commitment to strengthening regional and European cooperation in the field of harm reduction, drug policy, and community-based responses to emerging drug trends.

The online platform was developed as a response to the growing need for accessible, evidence-informed, and practice-oriented educational resources focused on harm reduction and new psychoactive substances (NPS). While NPS continue to reshape drug markets and patterns of use across Europe, many professionals and frontline workers still lack access to structured training adapted to rapidly changing realities on the ground.

The platform therefore aims to support capacity building among multidisciplinary professionals and stakeholders working in health care, social protection, outreach and peer support services, education, youth work, research, policy development, and civil society. It also serves as an accessible learning space for students and young professionals entering the field.

The course consists of six thematic modules covering:

  • foundations and principles of harm reduction
  • emerging psychoactive substances and contemporary drug trends
  • harm reduction interventions and service models
  • ethics, communication, and non-stigmatizing approaches
  • policy frameworks, sustainability, and advocacy
  • practical tools and resources for everyday professional practice

The platform allows participants to learn at their own pace, access additional resources and practical materials, exchange knowledge, and receive a certificate upon course completion.

During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the NEHRD project and its regional cooperation framework, explore the structure and educational content of the online learning platform, and receive a live demonstration of the platform and registration process. The workshop will also create space for discussion on current regional challenges related to new psychoactive substances (NPS) and harm reduction responses, while encouraging participants to exchange experiences, recommendations, and ideas for future collaboration, dissemination, and capacity building across the region.

Event details

Date: 27 May 2026

Time: 15:00 CET

Platform: Zoom

Preliminary Agenda:

  • Irena Molnar, Re Generacija – Opening remarks and introduction to the NEHRD project and its activities
  • Stefan Pejić, Re Generacija – Presentation of the online learning platform and curriculum modules
  • Milutin Milošević, Drug Policy Network South East Europe (DPNSEE) – Regional cooperation and the role of DPNSEE in strengthening harm reduction responses
  • Open discussion: emerging challenges, regional perspectives, and future needs
  • Networking and next steps for collaboration

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MeaA9QGwRv6-f79NTFQriQ

(Zoom access details will be shared with all registered participants.)

Feel free to share this invitation within your networks and with colleagues who may be interested in strengthening their knowledge and practice in the field of harm reduction and emerging psychoactive substances.

We look forward to welcoming you to this exchange and discussion.

Assessment of gender sensitivity of the drug harm reduction program for youth in Serbia

Posted on by DPNSEE

This gender analysis of harm reduction services for young people who use drugs (PWUD) “Assessment of gender sensitivity of the drug harm reduction program for youth in Serbia“, published by our member organisation Prevent from Novi Sad, was conducted within the Erasmus+ regional project “Creating Gender-Based Programs for Young People Who Use Drugs,” with the aim of identifying gender-related barriers, gaps, and opportunities in existing programs. The study places a strong focus on the needs and lived experiences of young PWUD, including those of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, while assessing the level of gender sensitivity and inclusiveness of current services. In 2025, the harm reduction landscape in Serbia is marked by the absence of an updated national strategy, weakening multisectoral cooperation, and the exclusion of civil society organizations (CSOs) from policymaking processes. Existing policies only partially recognize harm reduction and lack gender-specific or transformative approaches, while the legal framework remains repressive and discourages service access. Additionally, there is a significant lack of gender-disaggregated data and gender analysis in public systems, alongside documented discrimination against women, trans, and LGBTQAI+ individuals. Despite these challenges, CSOs continue to play a crucial role as primary service providers, offering essential support such as sterile equipment, testing, counselling, and safe spaces, though they face limited funding, administrative barriers, and declining international support, putting especially gender-sensitive and youth-focused services at risk of closure.

The findings highlight that women – particularly sex workers, Roma women, and trans and non-binary individuals – face multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization, compounded by the lack of gender-responsive services and systemic exclusion from public institutions. There is a clear need for more inclusive, gender-sensitive, and accessible approaches, including mobile and night outreach, integrated legal and healthcare support, and safe shelters. While CSOs are actively developing anti-stigma protocols, gender-neutral spaces, staff training, and protection mechanisms, their efforts remain constrained by unstable funding. Accordingly, the recommendations emphasize the urgent need to integrate a gender perspective into public policies, ensure sustainable institutional funding for CSOs, reform punitive legal frameworks, and enable meaningful participation of both CSOs and young PWUD in decision-making. At the organizational and programmatic levels, priorities include diversifying funding sources, strengthening partnerships, preserving core services, expanding peer-led and gender-sensitive programs, improving outreach and communication, addressing violence, and investing in continuous monitoring and staff capacity building. Overall, a coordinated and gender-responsive systemic shift is essential to ensure equitable, sustainable, and effective harm reduction services in Serbia.

The report, in Serbian, is available following this link>>>.

Prevent also published a comparative report which is the result of collaboration between civil society organizations from three countries: Prevent from Novi Sad, HOPS from Skopje, and Sananim from Prague. It provides a comprehensive overview and comparison of three national gender analyses of harm reduction programs conducted in Serbia, North Macedonia, and the Czech Republic during 2025, using a shared methodology. The main objective was to identify gender-related barriers, gaps, and opportunities within existing harm reduction services, with a particular focus on the needs and experiences of young people who use drugs, including individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. The report examines the extent to which services are gender-sensitive, inclusive, and responsive to the specific needs of users, taking into account the influence of gender norms, identities, and structural inequalities on both access to and quality of services.

The analysis combines two key components: a desk review of existing strategies and policy frameworks, and qualitative insights gathered through semi-structured interviews with organizations working directly with marginalized communities, including people who use drugs, sex workers, LGBTI+ individuals, and youth. To ensure a standardized and evidence-based assessment, the evaluation of programs and policies was conducted using the World Health Organization’s Gender Responsive Assessment Scale (GRAS), which enabled the identification of levels of gender responsiveness as well as critical gaps across the three national contexts. This comparative approach not only highlights shared challenges but also provides a foundation for developing more inclusive, gender-responsive harm reduction policies and practices across the region.

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

Gender sensitivity of programs to reduce harm from drug use among young people

Posted on by DPNSEE

How gender-sensitive are drug harm reduction programs in North Macedonia, Serbia and the Czech Republic? How gender-specific and gender-transformative are national policies in these countries? Find the answers to these and many other questions in the comparative report “Gender Sensitivity of Drug Harm Reduction Programs for Youth in North Macedonia, Serbia and the Czech Republic”.

In Macedonian here, in Serbian and in Czech.

The report is part of the Project – Creating Gender-Based Programs for Youth Who Use Drugs funded by the European Union (ERASMUS+ program).

The main goal of the project is to build the capacities of civil society organizations working with youth who use drugs to develop gender-sensitive drug harm reduction programs.

Guide for developing gender-sensitive harm reduction programmes

Posted on by DPNSEE

The Guide for developing gender-sensitive harm reduction programmes, prepared by our member organisations HOPS from North Macedonia, offers practical tools for organizations working with young people, women, LGBTI individuals, Roma communities, sex workers, and other vulnerable groups.

The document outlines how to identify barriers, how to establish safe and inclusive spaces, how to collect gender-disaggregated data, and how to design services that genuinely meet the diverse needs of service users.

The Guide is concise, practical, and focused on real systemic change – a shift from “what is the problem” to “how do we solve it.”

To access the Guide, follow this link>>>.

 

Youth and gambling

Posted on by Milutin

The Regional Conference “Youth and Gambling – National and regional perspectives” was held on 20 November 2024 in Skopje. The conference is organized by HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje, in partnership with Labyrinth from Kosovo and Prevent from Serbia within the framework of the regional project “Youth and Gambling” with the support of the Western Balkans Fund. The main goal of the project is to advance national policies and practices aimed at preventing gambling among youth under the age of 25.

The conference was attended by representatives of the ministries, institutions and civil society organizations responsible for this issue from North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo.

The results of the research “Youth and their Betting Habits in North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo” were presented at the conference. This research, which included 214 young people under the age of 25 in Macedonia, showed that 17.8% of respondents declared themselves addicted to gambling. Eighty-four percent of respondents said that they know someone younger than 25 who is addicted to playing games of chance. Of these, as many as 39.3% said they knew more than 10 people under the age of 25 who were addicted to gambling, and only 11.2% said they did not know a person under the age of 25 who was addicted to gambling.

Regarding the information provided to gambling players by the organizers of these games about the danger of becoming addicted, only 19.2% of respondents said that in the facilities where they play gambling there is information that one can become addicted to these games. Also, only 7.5% of respondents said that in the facilities where they play gambling there is information where one can seek help in case of addiction to these games.

Similar data are noted in Serbia and Kosovo.

The conference adopted regional and recommendations for each of the participating countries/territories.

Reports from the project are abailable in Macedonian, Serbian and Albanian.

Slovenia opens first drug consumption room

Posted on by Milutin

ŠENT – Slovenian Association for Mental Health opens tomorrow Goriška varna soba (Goriška Safe Room), first drug comsumption room in Slovenia.

The Safe Room is a harm reduction program aimed at a high-risk population of illicit drug users. The basic purpose of the safe room is to reach and respond to the needs of this particularly vulnerable group of users, whose needs cannot be adequately addressed within the existing public health system. At the same time, these users may be a significant burden to the local environment/community. With the services ŠENT offer in the safe room, they can most effectively and directly influence the reduction of health risks, and indirectly also the risks that they deal with within the social welfare and criminal law areas of treatment. In addition, the use of drugs is withdrawn from the public space into a private and at the same time controlled space, which reduces the possibility of exposure to the general public, including the risks that arise from the use of drugs in a public space.

The basic goals of safe room programs are the prevention of overdoses and health complications and the possibility of effective treatment in the event of them, the prevention of blood-borne diseases (Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, HIV, etc.) and bacterial infections, the reduction of drug use in public areas, enabling contact with particularly vulnerable and hard-to-reach users, reducing the costs of health, social and legal protection related to the use of illegal drugs.

ŠENT plan to connect the operation of the safe room program with the operation of the existing day center for users of illegal drugs in Nova Gorica (Sedejeva 9a). The space in which only this one operates and which is owned by the Municipality of Nova Gorica (MONG) is an independent building – a living container, which consists of interconnected modules, and has been used by the ŠENT association since 2006. The space has over the years of use proven to be suitable for the provision of harm reduction services, as due to its location (on the outskirts of the city of Nova Gorica) and its location outside the strict residential area, it is undisturbed for the residents. The city center is 500 meters away, which still ensures proximity to everyone who needs it.

Final preparations for the Safe Room openning

The safe room program will follow the guidelines of safe rooms from abroad. It will include a main area dedicated to drug use and individual work with users. The drug use area will be divided into two parts, one part will be for intravenous drug use, while the other part will be intended for users who will use the drug orally or nasally. The safe room will be used by one user at a time, who will have from 20 to 60 minutes available to use the drug, and the specific needs of the individual user must be taken into account, as some have problems with collapsed veins and consequently need longer injection time. Each user will have at their disposal sterile accessories that will enable nasal, oral and intravenous use of drugs, as well as other necessary accessories, which are free in the program.

Before using the safe room service, the user will have to take care of preliminary hygiene under the guidance of an employee, after use he will have to clean the work surface, for which s/he will have available cleaning products and a tray for infectious waste. The sterility and appropriateness of the work surfaces must be monitored and, if necessary, also ensured by the employee during use. The program will employ two professionals, a medical graduate and a social welfare professional.

Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia is the source of co-financing of the safe room. The total value of the operation is 207,359.68 Euro.

 

Our Yuliya awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year”

Posted on by Milutin

At the ceremony held on 10 October 2024, Forbes Bulgaria, honored the best Bulgarian entrepreneurs for the fourth year in a row. The awards were part of the Forbes DNA of Success Forum & Awards 2024: a half-day event that contains a forum and a competition part.

In the Social Entrepreneur category, the jury unanimously awarded an award to Yulia Georgieva. Julia is the founder of the Center for Humane Policies (DPNSEE member organisation), which at the Pink House provides a refuge for drug addicts. The activity of the organization is unparalleled and provides support to people who have nowhere else to get it.

During the forum, the audience had the opportunity to hear inspiring personal stories of entrepreneurs who achieved success after receiving valuable help from people with more experience than them. This is the so-called “Pass on and ask for nothing in return” philosophy.

Congratulations Yuliya – we are proud of you!

 

Summer school on drug addictions

Posted on by Milutin

HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje organizes for the eighth time a “Summer School on Drug Addictions”, which this year will be held from June 21 to 28 in Strumica.

The seven-day school will offer a multidisciplinary approach to learning about drug addictions that will take into account social, medical, and political issues.

The aim of the summer school is to educate young professionals to work in the field of drug addiction.

The school will specifically focus on drug policy models, evidence-based addiction treatment, harm reduction, psychosocial support and programs for resocialization and integration, and the concept of human rights. A visit to the addiction programs that exist in Strumica, where the school will be held, is also planned.

Graduates or students from the final years of studies in the field of social work and social policy, legal studies, medical studies, security, police and detectives, psychology, as well as postgraduates from the mentioned fields and young professional associates, under the age of 30, have the right to participate.

Interested candidates for participation in the summer school should send a letter of motivation and a short biography to vlatkod@hops.org.mk no later than June 12, 2024. All costs for the summer school are provided by the organizer.

 

Slovenian conference on addiction treatment

Posted on by Milutin

Our colleagues from the South Eastern European Adriatic Addiction Treatment Network organised the 11th Slovenian conference on addiction treatment. The Conference also included the 9th National Symposium “Hepatitis C virus infection and drug users”.

The conference was held in Ljubljana on 16 and 17 May 2024. Doctors and other involved medical staff had participated.

The conference agenda included a variety of interesting issues. A significant section was dedicated to treatment of children and adolescents using drugs.

During the session on international activities, DPNSEE Executive Director presented work of the Network, situation with harm reduction in the region, importance of civil society involvement and news from the Civil Society Forum on Drugs.

Evaluation of the National Strategy for Drugs

Posted on by Milutin

Our member organisation HOPS – Options for a healthy life Skopje published the “Evaluation of the National Strategy for Drugs 2021-2025 and the Action Plan for Drugs 2021-2023 of the Republic of North Macedonia“.

The purpose of this evaluation was:

  • To measure the relevance of the goals of the Strategy for Drugs 2021-2025 and the Action Plan for Drugs 2021-2023 in relation to the situation with the drug problem in North Macedonia;
  • To measure the impact of the Drug Strategy 2021 – 2025 and the Drug Action Plan 2021 – 2023 in relation to the national response to the drug problem;
  • To determine the degree of implementation of the measures from the Action Plan for Drugs 2021-2023,
  • To detect the obstacles and barriers that appeared in the implementation of the action plans, but also to determine the support systems or resources in the implementation of the measures from the action plans;
  • To define directions and priorities that should be observed in creating the new Action Plan for drugs 2024-2025.

This evaluation was carried out and published within the framework of the project “Improvement of the National Drug Policy in the Republic of North Macedonia” coordinated by HOPS and supported by the regional project SMART Balkans – Civil Society for a Connected Western Balkans implemented by the Center for the Promotion of Civil society (Centar za promeno členni društva – CPCD), by the Center for Research and Policy Making (CIKP) and by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.

The Evaluation is available (in Macedonian) following this link>>>.