Helping harm reduction programs move towards best practices

For harm reduction programs across Canada, the distribution of injection, smoking and snorting/sniffing supplies remains a crucial activity to reduce drug-related harms. While estimates of the number of people who use drugs from unregulated markets are imprecise, the evidence that does exist suggests that more than 170,000 Canadians inject drugs and 730,000 used cocaine or crack in the past year (1). Population estimates of the number of Canadians who used crystal methamphetamine are not available. The rates of needle/syringe sharing in Canada have dropped in the past 20 years to just over 10% among people who inject drugs, but more...

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Spotting for people who use drugs: What, when and how

With an increasingly poisoned drug supply and criminal laws that make the consumption of drugs more dangerous, people who use drugs rely on each other and their service providers to spot an overdose and get help as needed. But what if a person is using drugs on their own? This dilemma has become even more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as public health guidance has discouraged gatherings and promoted physical distancing.

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Changer les politiques et s’attaquer aux inégalités : la santé et le bien-être des personnes qui consomment des drogues

L’International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU, réseau international en matière de santé et d’hépatite chez les personnes qui consomment des substances) a élargi son mandat en 2020 : celui-ci ne se limite plus à l’hépatite virale mais concerne la santé globale des personnes qui consomment des drogues. Du 13 au 15 octobre 2021, l’INHSU a tenu son premier congrès sur la base de ce mandat plus étendu.

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Surveillance des surdoses : quand le communautaire prend la situation en main

Vous avez entendu parler de la crise des surdoses? Celle qui ravage le Canada depuis de trop nombreuses années déjà? Oui? Vous savez donc sûrement que le Québec ne se distingue pas des autres provinces. En effet, de juillet 2020 à juin 2021, 495 décès sont reliés à une possible intoxication aux opioïdes ou autres drogues. Le fentanyl est souvent pointé du doigt, mais il n’est pas le seul coupable.

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How Rwanda is eliminating hepatitis C and what Canada can learn from its successes

Rwanda is a country situated in sub-Saharan, eastern Africa with a high population density: 499 people per square kilometre in 2018 and a population of 12.6 million people in 2019, an increase of 2.64% from 2018. Although it is among the poorest countries in the world and experienced a genocide against the Tutsi people in 1994, Rwanda has made immense progress in the fields of public health, achieving its Millennium Development Goals for population health, such as reduction of under-five mortality and maternal mortality.

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