News and Announcements

Executions for drug offences globally fall nearly 90% in three years, as move toward death penalty abolition gathers pace

26 February 2019

New report finds Saudi Arabia to be top executioner for drug offences in 2018, while state secrecy in China clouds official figures LONDON (26 FEBRUARY 2019) – The number of known annual executions for drug offences fell from 755 to 91 between 2015 and 2018, according to new data released today by Harm Reduction International (HRI). Nearly 40%… Read more

Call for Tenders: Harm Reduction International Conference 2021 (HR21)

23 January 2019

THE HR21 CALL FOR TENDERS IS NOW CLOSED. THE 2021 CONFERENCE HOST WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF 2019. Harm Reduction International is currently accepting tenders from capable, local partners with the capacity and enthusiasm to co-host the next Harm Reduction International Conference, to be held in April/May/June of 2021. The Harm Reduction… Read more

Harm Reduction International Welcomes Malaysian Minister’s Call for Drug Law Reform

17 January 2019

Law Minister states that drug use should be treated as a health and not a criminal justice issue LONDON (17 JANUARY) – At a meeting of the Malaysian cabinet on January 17, Law Minister Liew Vui Keong calle d for sections of the country’s Dangerous Drugs Act to be amended to ensure that drug use is no longer criminalised. Minister Vui… Read more

Overdose, HIV and hepatitis C crises surge as global harm reduction response stalls

10 December 2018

Major new report finds less than half of countries with injecting drug use implement services to prevent blood-borne viruses and drug-related death Use of amphetamine-type stimulants reportedly increasing, yet countries failing to adapt harm reduction services LONDON (11 DECEMBER 2018) – The number of countries providing harm reduction… Read more

Singapore becomes one of world’s top executioners for drug offences

29 October 2018

On Friday 26th October, Singapore executed two men for drug trafficking, bringing the total number of executions this year to nine. Our research indicates that all are for drug-related crimes, making Singapore one of the world’s top executioners for non-violent drug offences, along with Saudi Arabia and China. Compared with the international… Read more

Harm Reduction International Condemns New Bangladesh Law Expanding Use of the Death Penalty for Drugs

29 October 2018

Parliament passes bills that bucks global trend toward abolition of the death penalty LONDON (29 OCTOBER) – Bangladesh’s parliament passed a bill on 27 October that expands use of the death penalty for drug offenses in the country. The Narcotics Control Act 2018, an update to the 1990 Act, now makes the manufacture and distribution of… Read more

Harm Reduction International appoints Naomi Burke-Shyne as executive director

30 July 2018

(LONDON 30 July) – Harm Reduction International (HRI) announced today the appointment of Naomi Burke-Shyne as its new executive director. She will take the position on 1 September 2018, replacing Dr Rick Lines who has served as executive director since 2010. Naomi joined Harm Reduction International in October 2017 as deputy director and has… Read more

Donor funding for harm reduction drops one quarter in a decade, placing global HIV response under threat

23 July 2018

New research finds annual funding for harm reduction in low- and middle-income countries is 13% of the required amount to prevent HIV among people who inject drugs LONDON (23 July 2018) – Funding for harm reduction services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is in crisis, according to a new report from Harm Reduction International… Read more

Harm Reduction International Executive Director announces his departure

29 May 2018

After eleven years at Harm Reduction International, eight of them as Executive Director, I will be stepping down at the end of August. This year marks my 25th anniversary working in harm reduction.… Read more

HR19 Venue Announcement

11 April 2018

HR19 – 28 April - 1 May 2019 – Porto HRI is pleased to announce that the Harm Reduction International Conference 2019 (HR19) will be held at the Alfândega Porto Congress Centre. “Oporto, Portugal” by Jose A. is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Located in the historic centre of the city of Porto, along the bank of the Douro River, it was… Read more