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Apart from having our own User Activists organization a lot of progress was made on involving new partners. A core group of activists managed to move us in a position from which we where able to take what is ours. It was realy an empowering event;) I'll sample a piece out of the minutes of the Inpud board meeting:
Inpud to be responsible for HR equipement at next IHRC in cooperation whit WHO
This edition of the IHRC again brought up the problem of un sufficient Harm Reduction measures for User specific needs during the annual conference. As mentioned before, Polish law and scared Doctors left us alone organizing ourselves what was needed to support our peers. Even worse was that also the Harm Reduction equipment for safer drug use didn't met the criteria if you want to be able to fight the spread of Hep C. Inpud was supposed to be involved in the Medical Committee, but this was only on paper. The people in charge didn't succeed to open up to us to be involved properly. So you end up whit a crisis one week before the conference takes of.
As well for “supportive harm reduction medication” as for “Harm Reduction equipement” the organization twice didn't deliver what was needed. Inpud activists twice organized their own stuff. We needed less than a week to organize, the conference organizers could provide nothing. We had to advocate for proper Harm Reduction tools at the world Harm Reduction conference. This was showing off bad on the conference organizers.
The moment that we started group emailing (Tuesday 8 May) to get to a solution on this heavy problem whit some user activists, close alies, IHRA and the conference organizers, we also included people from World Health Organization in the group mails. I learnt to know WHO people who work on Hep C awareness earlier this year. Also Mauro Guarinieri had a use full WHO contact. We proposed to solve the problem ourselves again this year and at the same time ask for complet responsibility on Harm Reduction tools for next years conference in Barcelona.
We proposed to WHO to work together on defining the basic Harm Reduction package that meets the criteria to fight the spread of Hep C and also to develop guidelines for conference organizers who welcome people who use drugs to their conference. On Monday evening 14 May, Anan Pun and me got agreement from WHO that we could propose this during the annual Inpud-IHRA meeting on Tuesday 15 May. We proposed to IHRA's Gerry Stimson that Inpud has an agreement to cooperate whit WHO as explained. And IHRA agreed on doing it this way.
That's how the International User Activists who where active in organizing people who use drugs to attend the Warsaw conference managed to involve Inpud's next strategic alie (WHO) and also made clear to our friends and allies: the User is the expert.
Important part of next years work: make the Inpud-WHO cooperation work and use the partnership in every possible way that is good for Inpud.
Joined: 07 May 2007 Posts: 11 Location: Edmonton, Alberta ,Canada
Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:10 pm Post subject:
AAWEAR Alberta Addicts Who Educate & Advocate Responsibly is the Alberta group that Leegay, Rob, and Rosemary have been working on here in Alberta.
As It Is is our Edmonton and area Grateful or Dead is Calgary and area and Red Deer as yet unnamed. We are currently looking at a non-profit Status and hope to learn from Undun"s experience.
Roy _________________ Everything Happens For a Reason
AS IT IS
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