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Nothing about us, without us.
SANPUD is a registered non-profit organisation made up of member peer-led organisations that share a common purpose - to defend the rights of people who use drugs. We further seek to dismantle myths, hypocrisy and bad science that inform society's understanding of drugs, their use, and the people who use them.
Harm Reduction in South Africa
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“Harm reduction” is a pragmatic, non-judgmental set of strategies to reduce individual and community harm caused by drug use. The focus is on taking incremental steps to reduce harm rather than on eliminating drug use. Abstinence may or may not be the end goal. One the many approaches described as harm reduction aims to prevent the spread of infections (including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other blood-borne infections); reduce the risk of overdose and other drug-related fatalities; and decrease the negative effects drug use may have on individuals and communities.
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South Africa has four harm reduction projects aimed at HIV prevention among people who inject drugs. One funded by the Global Fund operates in four cities: Cape Town, eThekwini & Nelson Mandela Bay are run by TBHIV Care as the Step Up Project, the Johannesburg site is under the care of Anova Health. PEPFAR/CDC fund the HARMless project in Pretoria, and the University of Pretoria department of family medicine has secured funds to run a community oriented substance use programme (COSUP).
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