{"id":3700,"date":"2009-09-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psi2030.wpengine.com\/psi-scales-up-injecting-drug-use-programs-in-thailand-china\/"},"modified":"2018-05-22T22:26:59","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T22:26:59","slug":"psi-scales-up-injecting-drug-use-programs-in-thailand-china","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/fr\/news\/psi-scales-up-injecting-drug-use-programs-in-thailand-china\/","title":{"rendered":"PSI Scales Up Injecting Drug Use Programs in Thailand, China"},"content":{"rendered":"

PSI’s Shimon Prohow recently attended the 20th International Harm Reduction Conference in Thailand. After the conference, he traveled to China to visit PSI\u2019s Kunming drop-in center for injecting drug users. He shares his experiences below.<\/em><\/p>\n

On April 20, I met 13 PSI staff from Vietnam, India, China, Laos and Thailand in Bangkok for the 20th Conference of the International Harm Reduction Association. The conference gave PSI the chance to highlight our injecting drug use (IDU) projects across Asia and Latin America.<\/p>\n

PSI was well-represented with six oral presentations and three posters. In addition, PSI IDU Technical Expert Rob Gray chaired a panel on emerging issues in harm advocacy, and our local staff hosted a satellite session on harm reduction in Thailand.The conference\u2019s theme, Harm Reduction and Human Rights, meant that many presentations and attendees were focused on activism and advocacy, while PSI\u2019s focus remained on effective, measurable programming.<\/p>\n

Kunming Drop-In Center<\/strong>
\nAfter the conference, I also had the chance to visit PSI\/China\u2019s Kunming IDU drop-in center. The center is one part rehabilitation center, one part support group and one part Real World China. <\/p>\n

PSI\u2019s center is a large open space and resembles an indoor caf\u00e9. Lots of tables for shared meals or smokes, couches and a long conference table. But the corporate decisions made here are more confessional as PSI hosts one of two Narcotics Anonymous groups in China.<\/p>\n

The people all look older than their years. They\u2019ve suffered immensely from drugs and from the trials of detox. They\u2019ve spent time in compulsory detoxification centers and that\u2019s where most of them learned about PSI and started to get help. They got their first support from a peer educator, who insisted that their lives were not over.<\/p>\n

In partnership with China\u2019s Public Security Bureau, PSI\/China provides a bridge for drug users between the compulsory detox centers and reintegration into society. The drop-in center is just such a bridge, where health education and services are provided and former and current injecting drug uers give support to one another. This is the largest peer-led program of its kind in Yunnan and Guangxi with coverage of 27 compulsory detoxifica tion centers and 1,553 trained peer educators.<\/p>\n

At the Kunming center, there is a women\u2019s area too, as well as a semi-private room for small discussions. And \u2014 as a reminder of the consequences of injecting drugs \u2014 there is an HIV testing room.<\/p>\n

The theme at the center is hope. Counselors with tattoos share their pasts and talk about clients\u2019 futures. You don\u2019t need to speak Chinese to understand what is happening here.<\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","related_countries":[],"related_projects":[],"news_category":[],"health-area":[],"capabilities-and-cross-cutting":[],"class_list":["post-3700","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t