Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Platform (DPHRP Malawi Chapter) has reiterated calls for the Government of Malawi to decriminalize drug use in an effort to reduce harm among users.
Chairperson of the DPHRP Malawi Chapter, Undule Mwakasungula, was reacting to revelations by the 2024 Global State of Harm Reduction Report that stigmatisation and criminalisation of people who use drugs as some of the major barriers towards mainstreaming and utilization of harm reduction services in most countries.
The report observes that 108 countries include harm reduction in national policies. However, criminalisation and punitive responses to drugs remain dominant in most places.
"These approaches undermine harm reduction efforts and continue to fuel stigma and discrimination and deter people who use drugs from seeking vital, life-saving services. This key contradiction must be addressed for meaningful progress to be made," reads the report in part.
Malawi is one of the countries that still maintain punitive drug policies that criminalize drug use and, according to Mwakasungula, maintaining these punitive drug policies exacerbates stigma, discourages access to harm reduction services, and undermines public health efforts.
"To solve this, Malawi should focus on treating drug use as a health issue, not a crime," he said.
On insufficient funding, Mwakasungula observed that just like other countries, Malawi does not have enough money to support harm reduction programs despite the programs being affordable and saving lives.
He said Malawi needs to push for more funding from both local sources and international donors.
Commenting on revelations that prisoners abuse drugs and are at greater risk of harm, Mwakasungula emphasized the need to enhance provision of harm reduction services, such as drug treatment programs, which could help reduce these dangers inprisons.
"Much as Malawi faces challenges with drug use, such as criminalization, stigma, lack of funding, and health risks in prisons. However, the government is making efforts to improve. Reviewing drug laws, working with partners to provide health services, and addressing issues in prisons through HIV prevention and other programs. But more work, funding, and focus on treating drug use as a health issue are needed to make progress. Further Malawi must prioritize harm reduction to improve public health and protect vulnerable populations," he said.
Another harm reduction activist, Chimwemwe Ngoma, disclosed that safer nicotine products (SNP) have a positive impact on reducing smoking-related mortality across the globe.
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Ngoma was speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, where dozens of harm reduction experts, activists and journalists have converged for this year's Harm Reduction Exchange - an annual conference where delegates and participants discuss ways of reducing negative consequences of drug use.
Ngoma asked governments to seriously consider making greater investment in harm reduction interventions.
"Evidence suggests that SNP have a positive impact on reducing smoking-related mortality. A good example is Sweden where the rate of lung cancer cases amongst Swedish men in 2022 was less than half the European average," he said.
But journalists attending the conference lamented the unavailability of concrete data on drug use in most African countries, saying this limits their reporting on harm reduction matters.
This year's conference is being held under the theme: "Enabling innovation in harm reduction through science-led regulation and policy-making".
