HISTORY
This brief video history of SANPUD was created by Drug Reporter (https://drogriporter.hu/en/) as part of the INPUD's Taking back what’s ours! A documented history of the movement of people who use drugs project. |
This brief video history of SANPUD was created by Drug Reporter (https://drogriporter.hu/en/) as part of the INPUD's Taking back what’s ours! A documented history of the movement of people who use drugs project. |
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Before SANPUD was formed, a lot of groundwork was done to ensure that SANPUD would be accepted by various stakeholders. The investment of funding by Open Society Foundations and the flexibility of TB HIV Care enabled a small group of people to create the initial SANPUD concept and early versions of the organisation. In 2014, working with AIDSfonds and Mainline, a theory of change was developed to map out the future of the policy landscape for people who use drugs. For the next four years, this was the blueprint for the TB HIV Care Drug Policy Unit and SANPUD. The early stages of preparing the ground culminated in the SA Drug Policy Week, ahead of the 59th meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, where South Africa made an historic statement committing to more progressive and rights affirming drug policies.
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Several reports were published. The Q4 report from 2015 was released at a press conference at the RUN2016 SA Drug Policy Week and received press coverage.
We are planning to expand and improve the process going forward. These reports have helped the PWUD population feel heard, and have proven to be valuable advocacy tools. Two poster presentations have been done on this work and a peer reviewed paper is due for release late 2016, with further article being planned. |
Human rights abuse reportingOne of the first things that networks got involved in was reporting huma rights abuses. This is an extract from the 2016 report:
There is a need to record and work towards reducing the human rights abuses suffered by this population. Current human rights abuses contribute to HIV risk and present a significant barrier to accessing health and HIV related services. THCA has secured funding from Mainline and the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmfAR) in order to examine these issues. There are two components to this initiative: 1. Documentation of human rights violations: On-going recording of human rights abuses in order to gather data which can be used to advocate for the promotion of the rights of drug users. 2. Project ACE (Advocacy, Communication, Education): Using the data collected to advocate for the human rights of PWUD and sensitise organisations and institutions such as law enforcement agencies and health service providers to the needs of PWUD, while promoting integration between these stakeholders. |