injecting drug use

Harm Reduction

James MorrisonOctober 12, 20232023 Springinjecting drug use naloxone overdoseLeave a comment

Up to 3,000 lives saved in first year of Take-Home Naloxone program

In the wake of International Overdose Awareness Day (31 August), it’s worth noting that it is now estimated that in its first year alone, the Take Home Naloxone (THN) program has saved 3,000 lives.
The national THN program provides naloxone to anyone who may experience, or witness, an opioid overdose or adverse reaction for free and without a prescription. Since the THN program began on 1 July 2022, an estimated 3,001 doses have been used by Australians experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose or adverse reaction, which is the equivalent of 8 uses per day. Continue reading “Harm Reduction”

HR 23: Strength In Solidarity – Part 2

Hepatitis SAJuly 14, 2023September 18, 20232023 Winteralcohol and other drugs harm reduction HR23 injecting drug use1 Comment

By Margaret Randle
& Notes from Meagan Stanfield

This was the first Harm Reduction Conference since 2019 and everyone was excited to hear what Australia had been doing as an early adopter of health-based approaches to drug use. I wanted to hear about what was going on in the Southeast Asian region, as they are our closest neighbours and notoriously hard-line on drug users, with alarming rates of incarceration of women and the use of death penalties for drug offences. Sadly, most of the would-be attendees from Southeast Asia were not given visas.

HR 23: Strength In Solidarity – Part 1

Hepatitis SAJuly 7, 2023September 8, 20232023 Winterharm reduction harm reduction in prisons injecting drug useLeave a comment

By Carol Holly

The Harm Reduction conference is held in a different country every two years and provides a forum for sharing the latest research, programs and policy in drug use, harm reduction* and human rights. The conference is convened by Harm Reduction International (HRI) – an organisation that promotes harm reduction and rights-based, evidence-based responses to drug use.

Continue reading “HR 23: Strength In Solidarity – Part 1”

It’s Your Right in SA

James MorrisonFebruary 2, 2023Uncategorisedhep C treatment hepatitis C testing injecting drug use Point of Care test treatment supportLeave a comment

New hep C testing/treatment campaign’s successes

The Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia Partnership (EC Australia) was created in 2018 to bring together researchers, scientists, government, health services and community organisations to work toward eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat in Australia by 2030 (see last issue for more).

Continue reading “It’s Your Right in SA”

When treatment, and everything else, goes wrong: David’s story

James MorrisonOctober 26, 2020October 9, 2020Uncategorisedalcohol hepatitis C hepatitis C treatment injecting drug use liver cancer diagnosis personal storyLeave a comment

I have been reading the Hepatitis SA Community News for a long time, perhaps since its inception! I have always been interested to read other people’s stories of living with hep C. The time has come for me to tell my tale.

I have been living with the hep C virus for over 30 years, contracting it some time in the mid-to-late ‘80s. In my late teens and early twenties I discovered that injecting various drugs was a wonderful form of escape. My need to obliterate myself during this period was the result of having been sexually abused in my early teens by the leader of a NSW Church of England Boys Society group.

Continue reading “When treatment, and everything else, goes wrong: David’s story”

Five Years of CNP Peers: Part 3

James MorrisonMay 15, 2020May 15, 2020Uncategorisedclean needle program cnp injecting drug use needle excchange peer educators supportLeave a comment

In this final instalment of conversations with Hepatitis SA peer educators, Margie, Penni, Justin and Sue reflect on the rewards they find in the job. Read previous instalments: Part 1 | Part 2

Continue reading “Five Years of CNP Peers: Part 3”

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