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Advocacy for women who use drugs in the MENA region

Mainline works with the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) to improve the position of women who use drugs (WWUD). We designed a manual for local organisations in the MENA region. The aim of this manual is to provide practical guidelines to advocate for harm reduction services for women. 

Who is the manual for?

The manual aims to be of practical help to anyone, regardless of their experience level, who wants to advocate for the needs of WWUD within a harm reduction framework. You can be working as a professional within a governmental- or non-governmental organisation or be a journalist, working in health care, be a woman who uses drugs yourself or simply care about the cause. The geographical focus of this guide is the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

MENAHRA and women who use drugs

In 2013, the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) which is a network focusing on harm reduction strategies for People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) in the MENA region, conducted operational research on women injecting drug users in 6 countries of the MENA region. In the follow-up on this research, the Guidelines on Gender Equality in HR services and an Advocacy Brief on specific harm reduction services for women were developed. Both the research and the guide clearly show the needs of WWUD and the present situation of limited access and availability of harm reduction services for women in the MENA region. They also describe the most ideal situation of full access and availability of gender specific harm reduction services. Many changes are needed to make harm reduction accessible for women.

Knowing what you want to change and what you want to achieve is essential. Unfortunately, it’s often not enough to make it a reality. That’s where advocacy comes in. 

Practical guide

When Mainline set out to develop the manual, it explicitly decided not to reinvent the wheel. There are already many excellent guides available – both to advocate for harm reduction and to advocate for women’s health and rights. Mainline collected what is there, made smart combinations and connected this information to the realities in the Middle East and North Africa. The result is a practical guideline, easy to use and culturally appropriate.

Read the manual here.

Our current projects


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Women who use drugs

Nepal

Mainline was asked to review the current harm reduction programmes in Nepal from the perspective of women who inject drugs. Based on interviews with women we formulated recommendations to improve service delivery. 

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Services for Vulnerable Migrants who use Drugs in the EU

Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Germany, France

Several risk factors increase the vulnerability of (new) groups of migrants to engage in problematic drug use. These risk factors include traumatic experiences, disengagement with society, unemployment and poverty. Services and municipalities throughout the European Union are faced with the urgent challenge to address these migrants’ needs. 

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Love Alliance

Burkina Faso, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Marocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Mainline is a partner in the Love Alliance programme. The Love Alliance brings together organisations led by communities most affected by HIV and AIDS.

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Community consultations in Nepal

A round of community consultations by and for people who use drugs is currently being organised in Nepal. The goal is to identify key priorities that need to be taken up in the next Global Fund grant. Mainline offers technical support for this initiative.

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Stimulant Harm Reduction - Field Lab

Vietnam

In 2021 and 2022, SCDI in Vietnam and Mainline can continue to strengthen and expand the available harm reduction offer for people who use meth-amphetamines. After establishing the regional field lab in 2019 and 2020 we now have the opportunity to push this innovative initiative to the next level. One important element: to improve and expand the community mental health response. Moreover, the skills that were built in Hanoi's field lab are ready to be further disseminated across the South East Asian Region.

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Mindful Muscles

United Kingdom, Finland, Greece, Estonia, Serbia, Portugal, the Netherlands

Harm reduction approaches are rarely applied in a recreational sports setting. And why would we - sport equals health, right? Not always. Research shows that the use of performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) is quite common in various recreational sport scenes. And for those people who use frequently and in high doses, harm reduction can make a big difference.

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harm reduction for people who use crack cocaine

Brazil

Mainline is starting a two-year project in Recife, Brazil, together with LANPUD, and the Free School for Harm Reduction (ELRD). The project aims to expand harm reduction and HIV care and support for young people who use crack cocaine.

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Mainline - Technical Advice

Did Mainline become a supplier? Yes: a supplier of technical advice for the Global Fund. Harm reduction organisations and networks of people who use drugs across the world can now request a Mainline training or capacity building. Read more about how this works.

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Chemsex

Global

The use of drugs during sex is a growing worldwide phenomenon among men who have sex with men (MSM). Mainline has built a unique track record while working in the frontline of the Dutch 'chemsex' scene. Now, we also apply this expertise in an international context.

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Our finished projects

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Assessing the drug scene

Zimbabwe

Mainline have been asked to assess the drug scene in five provinces in Zimbabwe. A team of three researchers worked in close collaboration with the Zimbabwe Civil Liberties Drug Network throughout 2022. The goal: to gain an insight into which drugs are commonly used and to recommend health interventions.

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Gender-based violence

Kenya

Women who use drugs in Kenya face violence every day: At home. On the streets. By the police. In their communities. A unique study - conducted in Mombasa, Kenya - sheds light on the tough realities these women encounter. Urgent action is needed.

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Size estimation and service mapping: introducing harm reduction

Zambia

Harm reduction is new in Zambia. Mainline was asked to estimate how many people inject drugs in the country and to map the already existing harm reduction and HIV services for people who use drugs. Based on this information, we drafted practical service guidelines. In doing so, Mainline hopes to have contributed to the introduction of harm reduction in Zambia.  

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Prison Health

Indonesia

Prisons in Indonesia are overcrowded and health services are limited. Is quality prison health too expensive? Not according to findings from Atma Jaya University, who applied the method of 'economic modelling' to prison health services, including drug dependency programmes. The findings fed important advocacy messages to improve the prison system in 2021. Moreover, Atma Jaya - via a 2021 implementation study - succesfully introduced motivational interviewing into the prison setting: an evidence-based method to assist people who are dependent on drugs and would like to reduce or quit their drug use.

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Quality Harm Reduction

Iran

Iran is renowned for its harm reduction programme. It was one of the first countries in this geographical region to adopt a harm reduction approach. Government supports and funds the programme. But the drug scene in Iran has changed over the past 20 years. More people are using stimulant drugs and, due to economic circumstances, more people who use drugs have become homeless. Mainline sets out to see whether the current programme in Tehran still fits the needs of the local people who use drugs.

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Women Who Use Drugs & Peer Workers

South Africa

Women Who Use Drugs face additional problems compared to their male counterparts. The harm reduction field far too often neglects the needs of women. To some extent, the same is true for peer workers: incredibly valuable staff in any impactful service. How can local services make sure that peer workers are valued, supported and living up to their full potential? And how can access for women who use drugs be improved?

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