Tag: South East Europe

Webinar on data

Posted on by Milutin

The Drug Policy Network South Wast Europe hosted a webinar to present the recently published data related to harm reduction and HIV/AIDS in South East Europe on 26 November 2024. Besides presenting the data, it was an opportunity to discuss ways in which data should be more reliable and how to integrate data collected by civil society organisations in govrenmental reporting.

Following the welcome address by Nebojša Đurasović, DPNSEE President, we had excellent presentations:

  • Global State of Harm Reduction report – presented by Colleen Daniels, Deputy Director and Public Health Lead, Harm Reduction International (2024 available here>>>)
  • Harm Reduction in South East Europe – Marios Atzemis, DPNSEE Board member (available here>>>)
  • Civil Society Monitoring of Harm Reduction in Europe – Iga Jeziorska, Senior Research Officer, Correlation – European Harm Reduction Network (available here>>>)
  • HIV/AIDS surveillance data for South East Europe (data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control – ECDC) – Milutin Milošević, Executive Director, DPNSEE (available here>>>)

In addition, DPNSEE had sent data by countries and territories to its member organisations and governmental institutions. You can also download them here:

Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Greece Kosovo*

Montenegro North Macedonia Romania Serbia Slovenia Turkey

DPNSEE informed that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control – ECDC will publish the HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe 2024 (2023 data) report on 28 November at https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/. DPNSEE will process the new data and prepare new visuals in early 2025.

A very successful regional campaign

Posted on by Milutin

The Drug Policy Network South East Europe (DPNSEE) coordinated the „Eliminate Violence Against Women Who Use Drugs – EVAWUD“ campaign in South East Europe, together with its 25 member organisations from 11 countries of the region. The campaign lasted from 25 November and lasted until 10 December 2023.

The campaign started in early November with informing the member organisations and inviting them to participate. The press release, originally prepared by the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN) and adjusted by DPNSEE, was translated into local languages of the region and distributes to media and institutions >>>. DPNSEE also prepared and distributed a document with key facts related to women and drug use.

From more than 30 social networks accounts (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) of partners in the region, 70+ posts, stories and photos were shared. They reached arounf half a million users who interacted seeing reacting, commenting and reposting. Most of these posts were at the DPNSEE Instagram account.

DPNSEE organised a meeting dedicated to eliminating violence against women who use drugs on Friday 8 December 2023 in the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade, with the support from the Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of Serbia. It was the opportunty to share thoughts and experiences in working on this important issue.

Participants came from several intitutions, including ministries on human and minority rights and social dialogue and health, the Institute for Public Health and UNODC representatives for South East Europe, and civil society organisations.

The meeting was very well covered by the media in Serbia (N1 >>>, Beta >>>, Danas >>>, Radio 021 >>>, NasloviNet >>>).

Other media from the region also reported about the issue of women who use drugs: Vijesti (MNE) >>>, TRN (RNM) >>>, Telma (RNM) >>> , SMK (RNM) >>>, CIN (MNE) >>>, IMA (RNM) >>>.

Thanks to media and social networks, we estimate that we reached out to more than half a million people. We regret that we didn’t have funds to pay te adverts at the social networks. With them, we should have had 10 times wider reach.

Another year of the Support. Don’t Punish campaign

Posted on by Milutin

The Drug Policy Network South East Europe coordinates activities of the campaign in South East Europe around the Global Day of Action 26 June – which is also the United Nations’ International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The campaign took to the streets, social networks, parliaments and many more to bring collective message to life in at least 294 cities of 94 countries – an incredible feat that we should all be proud of!

The Support. Don’t Punish 2023 campaign was held in all countries of South East Europe. It had

In 2023, we also participated in activities of the #DrugDecrimmonth to contribute to fighting stigmatisation and criminalisation of people who use drugs.

The DPNSEE staff collected and published articles alongside with photos of the involved organisations in the Network during the campaign on Internet page www.dpnsee.org and social media Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The report from the campaign is available following this link>>>.

      

Harm reduction services for people who use drugs recreationally

Posted on by Milutin

The Alliance for Public Health organises webinar “Introducing harm reduction services for people who use drugs recreationally in EECA and the Balkans”, with the support from ReGeneration and DPNSEE.

Recreational drug use is on the rise, but at the same time young people who engage in it are not properly targeted by harm reduction services and don’t receive the necessary support, information and commodities they need to prevent them from turning to problematic use and all the relevant consequences.

On this webinar international experience on planning and implementing harm reduction programs specifically for this target population will be shared. Also, the draft guide that on this topic will be presented.

The Agenda includes topics:

  • Introducing the key principles and the justification behind the need to advocate for, develop and offer HR services for people who use recreationally.
  • Promoting Safety, Health, and Well-being: The need for Systematic implementation of Harm Reduction Strategies in Southeastern European Festivals.
  • Ukrainian experience on harm reduction services for people who use drugs recreationally.
  • #SafeParty – good practice example of multi-sectoral approach in nightlife harm reduction and recreation settings.
  • Q&A and Discussion.

This webinar will be useful for program managers, advocates, policy makers and communities from across the region to help them inform their decisions and actions.

The webinar will be held via Zoom platform on Tuesday 25 July, from 11:00 to 12:30 CET. Translations will be available in English, Russian, BHCS and Albanian.

Please register to participate following this link>>>.

 

Online dialogue meetings

Posted on by Milutin

The Drug Policy Network South East Europe (DPNSEE) organised two regional online dialogues as part of the BOOST project. The aim was to assess the needs and challenges for the implementation of community-based good practices in the field of HIV/HCV/HBV prevention, treatment, and care for people who use drugs (PWUD). The two online dialogue meetings held in South East Europe gathered 30+ participants from 17 organisations in 9 countries

As the situation in the region is far from good, most of the dialogue was on the problems that people from key affected populations, their community organisations, service-providing organisations, and institutions face. In the context of our region’s challenging situation, discussions primarily revolved around the issues confronting key affected populations and organisations providing support to communities facing elevated risks.

Problems are common across the region. These include the pervasive stigma and discrimination directed at nearly all at-risk communities, particularly within institutional sectors where understanding should be most prominent. The public discourse surrounding these communities often employs disrespectful and discriminatory language, despite the efforts of NGOs to promote appropriate terminology.

Financing and sustainability of support services pose significant challenges, and the civil sector’s operational space is limited, reflecting a lack of motivation among institutions and decision-makers to enhance the quality of life for these communities. Existing laws related to these communities are problematic, as is the complex and exclusionary nature of accessing healthcare services and treatment programs. Official registers or record-keeping mechanisms are often lacking, and strategies are frequently rewritten without effective implementation.

The recommendations and conclusions from our open dialogue emphasise the need to focus on these issues. Through lobbying, public awareness campaigns, collaboration agreements, participation in working groups, and partnerships, we aim to improve the current situation. Our goal is to raise public awareness about these critical issues faced by at-risk communities and advocate for improvements in services, policies, and laws. Ultimately, we strive to ensure that members of these communities, who are at an elevated risk of social exclusion, can fully integrate into our society.

The report from the dialogues is available following this link>>>.

 

Maritime Balkan routes

Posted on by Milutin

Despite the prevalence of trade over land, South Eastern Europe (SEE) also contains more than a hundred ports and 12 container terminals, which are important entry and exit points for trade in the Adriatic, Aegean, Black and Ionian Seas, as well as along the Danube.

The report Portholes: Exploring the maritime Balkan routes, prepared by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI_TOC), reveals that there is also a maritime Balkan route bringing drugs into SEE through key commercial seaports: cocaine from Latin America and heroin via Türkiye and the Middle East. Other commodities being smuggled along this route include weapons, waste, counterfeit goods and cigarettes. In addition, it provides a glimpse of smuggling along the Danube.

The case studies, which feature nine of the region’s commercial ports, are a central element of this report. These ports were chosen to provide an overview of different types of ports (based on size, ownership, location and history of seizures) and to assess their vulnerability to organized crime.

The report is available following this link>>>.

 

 

Jubilee Support. Don’t Punish campaign

Posted on by Milutin

Following a good result in coordination of the campaigns since 2017, the International Drug Policy Consortium and The Drug Policy Network South East Europe agreed on continuing cooperation on organising the campaign in 2022.

The 10th Global Day of Action was a resounding success and brought into sharp relief our movement’s commitment to bring about positive change with people at the centre! For a decade, campaigners in all corners of the world have mobilised decisively to counter the harmful ‘war on drugs’ and the many systems of violence and neglect at its heart, and to build sustainable alternatives based on harm reduction and decriminalisation.

Through hundreds of creative, collaborative and impactful activities, campaigners have put harm reduction, decriminalisation and community engagement firmly on local, regional and national agendas. All while growing people power to ensure no one is left behind.

The Support. Don’t Punish 2022 campaign was held in all countries of South East Europe. It had

The Support. Don’t Punish activities were organised by, or in collaboration with, people who use drugs, people living with HIV, women, LGBTQ+ people, sex workers, young people, families of incarcerated people, and a long etcetera.

The DPNSEE staff collected and published articles alongside with photos of the involved organisations in the Network during the campaign on Internet page www.dpnsee.org and social media Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The report from the campaign is available following this link>>>.

Taking stock of budget advocacy efforts in EECA

Posted on by Milutin

The Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) presented the mapping report „Taking stock of budget advocacy efforts in Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asiа“ summarising budget advocacy efforts, funding and impact during the period 2018-2021 in CEECA countries. The focus of the assessment is on the role of civil society in budget advocacy, while acknowledging that government leaders, UN and technical partners play important roles as well. The assessment describes key budget advocacy initiatives and HIV donor support for them.

The report zooms in the four result areas of advocacy: civil society capacity to advocate; influencing HIV funding levels from national and local public sources; increasing efficiencies in spending; and contracting and funding for NGOs to deliver services. Without offering a comprehensive review, one of the final sections of the report shines light on efforts to influence budgets beyond HIV including in the fields of TB and health systems.

Regional overview is based on eight country case studies (including three fro Sout East Europe) exploring national experiences with budget advocacy, emerging challenges, and best practices. Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine (lower middle-income countries), Georgia, Kazakhstan and Montenegro (upper middle income countries receiving donor support), and Bulgaria and North Macedonia (post-Global Fund countries) were selected for analysis.

To keep the mapping manageable and focused, this assessment has not attempted to assess neither the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on HIV budget advocacy and fiscal space for health financing nor potential savings from reducing criminalization of population behaviours.

Analytical report «Taking stock of budget advocacy efforts in Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe and Central Asiа» has been prepared by EHRA in partnership with Open Society Foundations, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Sustainability, Transition and Efficiency Strategic Initiative and EECA regional team in cooperation with ECOM – Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity and Eurasian Women’s Network on AIDS (EWNA) as partners in the Eurasian Regional Consortium withing project “Thinking outside the box: overcoming challenges in community advocacy for sustainable and high-quality HIV services” supported by the Robert Carr Fund for civil society networks. Information was provided by country, regional and international partners. We are grateful to all our partners, members of Regional Advisory Group on Sustainability, interviewees and reviewers for their time and effort in work on this report.

To read the report, follow this link>>>.

 

European Union 2021 Enlargement Country Reports

Posted on by Milutin

Traditionally, the European Commission adopted its annual assessment of the implementation of reforms in the Western Balkan partners and Turkey, together with recommendations on the next steps for those countries, and published its annual country reports. This year, due to coronavirus pandemic, the report was published in autumn, not in spring as it used to be.

The 2021 Enlargement package: European Commission assesses and sets out reform priorities for the Western Balkans and Turkey includes a detailed assessment of the state of play and the progress made by the Western Balkans and Turkey on their respective paths towards the European Union, with a particular focus on implementing fundamental reforms, as well as clear guidance on the reform priorities ahead.

All six Western Balkans partners have committed to establishing a Common Regional Market, building on EU rules and standards, and should focus on overcoming the difficulties encountered in order to bring the opportunities of this initiative to the citizens and businesses of the region and to maximise the benefits of the investments under the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, which aims to spur the long-term recovery of the region, a green and digital transition, foster economic regional cooperation, boost economic growth and support reforms required to move forward on the EU path.

Accession negotiations have been opened with candidate countries Montenegro (2012), Serbia (2014), and Turkey (2005). North Macedonia is a candidate country since 2005 and Albania since 2014. Bosnia and Herzegovina (application to join the EU submitted in February 2016) and Kosovo* (Stabilisation and Association Agreement entered into force in April 2016) are potential candidates.

As in the previous three years, DPNSEE extracted segments related to drugs from each of the country reports and packed them in one document. Same like in previous years, it is a pity to see that, almost exclusively, except some references to drug abuse prevention and harm reduction in Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection, the reports deal only with law enforcement related to drugs.

 

The document we prepared with reports for 2020 and part 2021 is downloadable following this link>>>.

Full versions of the Commission’s documents from 2020 and part 2021 are available following this link>>>.

Civil Society Observatory’s Risk Bulletin

Posted on by Milutin

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) published Issue 5 of the Risk Bulletin produced by the Civil Society Observatory to Counter Organized Crime in South Eastern Europe.

Among other stories, you can read some related to drugs:

A renaissance of crime in Novi Pazar?

A spate of violent incidents has put Novi Pazar in southern Serbia back on the map as a hotspot of organized crime. The city, situated along key trafficking routes, once had the reputation of being the main heroin warehouse in Europe. We look at its past and present links to illicit economies.

Synthetic drugs in the Western Balkans

The Western Balkans is well known as a transit region for the trafficking of drugs, like cannabis, cocaine and heroin. But, as examined in this article, there are signs that the region is also a producer of synthetic drugs, as well as a growing consumer market.

Lessons learned from cannabis legalization in North Macedonia

In March 2016, North Macedonia legalized the cultivation and export of cannabis for medicinal use. We look at lessons learned from North Macedonia’s experience over the past five years, particularly related to regulation, and the dangers of legally-grown cannabis landing on the black market.

To read full the Bulletin, follow this link>>>.

 

GI TOC is a network of more than 500 experts on organised crime drawn from law enforcement, academia, conservation, technology, media, the private sector and development agencies. It publishes research and analysis on emerging criminal threats and works to develop innovative strategies to counter organised crime globally. To receive monthly Risk Bulletin updates an read more interesting stories and analysis from the region, please sign up following this link>>>.