Author: Agne

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP): EHRA is looking for a consultant to prepare a report on comprehensive services for women who use drugs survivors of violence

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RFP number EHRA-11-06
RFP name Consultant to prepare analytical report on the access to shelters
Closing date and time: 24:00 EET  December 24, 2021
Email for submissions: info@harmreductioneurasia.org

 General information

 Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) is a non-for-profit public membership-based organization uniting harm reduction activists and organisations from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) with its mission to actively unite and support communities and civil societies to ensure the rights and freedoms, health, and well-being of people who use psychoactive substances in the CEECA region. EHRA produce up to 20 different publications per year, based on collected information or conducted meetings.

The project “Access to Comprehensive care for Women Who Use Drugs in case of violence”, funded through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Response Mechanism to COVID-19, in addition to the Multicountry Project “Sustainability of Services for Key Populations in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia ”(#SoS project), implemented by the Alliance for Public Health and partners in 14 countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) region, EHRA’s work is aimed at improving the access of women who use drugs and survivors of violence to shelters, psychosocial (including psychiatric) and legal services, which have become even more during the COVID-19 epidemic.

In 2021 EHRA together with national partners developed the guide Help Impossible to ignore, which describes the range of problems faced by women who use drugs in situations of violence, as well as recommendations for various stakeholders on how to organize comprehensive services. From 2021 to early 2022, EHRA plans to hold regional webinars for police and social workers to respond to and work with violence against women who use drugs. At the same time, EHRA partners in Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Russia are working to build partnerships and advocate for the access of women who use drugs to shelters for women in situations of violence.

Scope of Services

 EHRA is looking for an individual consultant to:

  1. Document and prepare a report (3-5 pages in Russian or English) based on the results of a regional webinar with representatives of law enforcement agencies (until December 30, 2021)
  2. Document and prepare a report (3-5 pages in Russian or English) based on the results of the regional webinar with representatives of social services (Until February 10, 2022)
  3. Collect examples and best practices (at least 5 cases) of providing services for women who use drugs in cases of violence (until February 20, 2022)
  4. Prepare a report (30 pages in Russian or English) with recommendations based on the collected cases and conducted webinars (Until March 15, 2022)

 Evaluation criteria / requirements for candidates:

Submitted applications will be evaluated by the evaluation panel of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association.

When evaluating proposals, a two-step procedure will be followed:

  • assessment of previous experience (portfolio) by technical criteria – 80% in the overall assessment;
  • cost comparison (best value for money) – 20% of the total assessment.

Costs are evaluated only for technical applications with a minimum of 80 points out of a maximum of 100 as a requirement to pass the technical evaluation. A proposal that does not meet the minimum technical threshold will be not considered further.

The following technical criteria (80%) will be used to evaluate the submitted applications (the maximum possible number of points is 100):

  Points
Experience in preparing analytical reports 35
Experience in working with women who use drugs 30
Regional expertise in harm reduction and drug policy 35
 

Maximum possible number of points

  

100

 Cost evaluation (20%): EHRA will give the same consideration to submitted and registered work experience and qualifications as to the cost of services. The cost of the proposal will be assessed by the EHRA in terms of the best value for money in US dollars, and other factors.

This announcement shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

How to apply

To be eligible as a EHRA consultant, any organization or individual must comply with the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association Code of Ethics which you can find at the following link: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/ehra-code-of-ethics/

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • CV with a list of similar works
  • Motivation letter
  • Estimated number of working days / hours for each task and cost of services in US dollars.

The maximum possible number of working days should not exceed 10.

Please submit your proposal to the info@harmreductioneurasia.org until December 24, 2021. In the subject line of your e-mail please indicate  the RFP number (EHRA-11-06) and your name.  Otherwise, the application will not be considered.

General conditions

 Interested consultants should pay attention to the following conditions:

  • EHRA will sign an agreement with the winner of the competitive selection. The contract will define a detailed work plan and payment terms.
  • EHRB reserves the right (but does not assume obligations) to enter into negotiations with one or more applicants in order to obtain clarifications or additional information, as well as to agree on the terms of work.
  • Winner must confirm their daily rate prior to signing the contract.

 

CLIENT-CENTERED APPROACH AND BELONGING TO THE COMMUNITY ARE THE QUALITIES THAT HELP OVERCOME CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19

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Interview with Maksim Malyshev, “Andrey Rylkov Foundation” (ARF), Russia.

In 2021 “Andrey Rylkov Foundation” implemented a small grant within “We Will Not End AIDS Without Harm Reduction” project framework.

What violations of the rights of people who use drugs related to the Covid-19 situation have you registered during the pandemic?

During the pandemic we noticed a decrease in the availability of treatment for people who use drugs, which constitutes a violation of the right to health. In particular, we have documented the fact that a test for Covid-19 was added to the usual list of tests that are required for admission to drug addiction treatment programs in hospital setting.

For many people who use drugs it becomes an overwhelming task to do this test free of charge at the expense of compulsory health insurance (OMC), since they do not always hold an OMC policy nor are registered with a local clinic. Commercial tests at [private] laboratories are an additional financial burden, too great for a person who uses drugs.

Such a problem was identified, for example, at the hospital of the National Scientific Center for Narcology of the Serbsky State Scientific Center of Moscow.

How did the small grant help you assist the people whose rights were violated?

ARF provided several types of assistance within the framework of the grant:

– targeted assistance and social support services for people who use drugs in the context of ensuring the rights to free medical care in various fields. Such assistance included social support, provision of legal support, dialogue and mediation with government agencies responsible for provision of healthcare services;

– broader assistance for the community of people who use drugs included government advocacy to reduce barriers to accessing health services in the setting of the coronavirus pandemic. These activities incorporated launching complaints and appeals to various organizations, and even a lawsuit against one public health service provider. We can also here mention creation and dissemination of templates for appeals to remove barriers to accessing health services due to the pandemic, which have emerged before people who use drugs;

– and finally, people who use drugs were provided with information assistance in the form of actualization of the problems caused by coronavirus infection, as well as provision of access to information about the infection itself and its effect on psychoactive substances and antiretroviral therapy drugs. Also, an important informational focus was put on development of a pamphlet regarding vital importance and possibilities of vaccination for people who use drugs.

Covid-19 has created new challenges not only for people who use drugs, but also for civil society organizations working with the community. Please tell us about the new challenges you have faced.

The most important challenges for us were:

– restructuring of work and partial refocus from offline work towards remote services. It proved to be difficult both for us and our clients as well;

– difficulties caused by changes how medical institutions and other authorities themselves worked [during the pandemic]: quarantines, lockdowns, increased secrecy under the pretext of a pandemic;

– safety of our clients in the context of Covid-19 infections was also an important topic, and we had to correlate every action with the risk of infection of our clients;

– and at the end of the day, another important challenge was ensuring safety of our staff in the context of Covid-19.

What would help you overcome the difficulties / challenges that have arisen in a more successful, more effective manner?

First of all, we were helped by our client-centeredness and by being part of the community we work with. These qualities allowed us to always side with people who use drugs and to effectively overcome the difficulties.

Strengthening this vector could be helped by ensuring our greater resilience, both in financial and psychological sense.

 

ACCESS TO TREATMENT UNDER COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS IN BELARUS

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Interview with Sergey Kryzhevich, Belarus Republic national community-led NGO “Your chance”.

In 2021 “Your chance” implemented a small grant within “We Will Not End AIDS Without Harm Reduction” project framework

What violations of the rights of people who use drugs related to the Covid-19 situation have you registered during the pandemic?

There were cases of denial of access to opioid substitution therapy (OST) drugs for self-isolating clients in certain regions (for example, Brest). Also, in some cities, there were cases of refusal to deliver OST drugs to the clients of the program, who were hospitalized with Covid-19 or other diseases, especially if the hospital was “red-zoned”. There were issues with adjusting the dosage, for example, when transitioning from methadone or buprenorphine to morphine, certain hospitalized patients were refused to be prescribed adequate OST-replacement treatment altogether. The situation at the OST sites deteriorated as a whole: drug control and narcology authorities started repressing OST clients in cases of use of concomitant substances and other violations of the program’s terms. This especially affected Minsk and Gomel regions. Many clients of the program tend not to disclose symptoms, which may indicate Covid-19 infection, out of fear of losing access to the OST drugs.

How did the small grant help you assist the people whose rights were violated?

The small grant framework allowed us to provide consulting assistance to the clients of the OST program regarding their access to treatment in the context of Covid-19. We were available for communication almost 24/7. People could receive advice on any and all issues related to treatment, i.e. how to get the drugs delivered to hospitals, where to go when symptoms were detected, how to behave with the medical staff, how to adjust the dosage, switch to buprenorphine, etc. Assistance was provided in the form of written official requests and organization of personal visits [to doctors and officials]. I personally contacted the doctors of the OST sites where the problems would arise. Certain issues required direct contact with the Ministry of Health and with the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM).

What is the situation in Belarus with the implementation of OST take-home doses? Can people during Covid-19 (if they are in isolation) receive treatment?

At present it is not possible to obtain OST take-home doses in the Republic of Belarus. While on self-isolation, clients of the OST program have the right to visit medical institutions in order to ensure their life safety. Cases when dispensation of the drugs would be refused were registered only in the city of Brest. Other OST sites allow the clients to receive drugs during self-isolation, provided that all safety measures are properly observed.

The Decree of the Ministry of Health No. 98 of 20.08.2021 ratifies the Instruction on the provision of medical care to patients with the syndrome of dependence on narcotic drugs of the opium group. This Instruction provides for dispensation of drugs for home use as well as prescription distribution. This document has already entered into force, however at the moment it contradicts the provisions of the current Clinical Protocol. The new Clinical Protocol is going through the stage of finalization and approval. When both documents officially come into force, it will become theoretically possible to implement OST take-home dose; however it is still unknown how long it is going to take to advance the provisions of these documents into practice. It has come to our attention that WHO, the CCM, and the Ministry of Health are planning to conducts trainings for the medical staff first.

Covid-19 has created new challenges not only for people who use drugs, but also for civil society organizations working with the community. Please tell us about the new challenges you have faced.

The Covid-19 situation has not introduced any special new challenges for NGO “Your chance”. We now communicate more online and less in person. Our main concerns about the fate of our organization are not related with Covid-19, but with the situation in the country in general. Non-governmental organizations are being closed at an alarming rate, therefore, at present, all activities of “Your Chance” are directed towards cooperation with the Ministry of Health and CCM regarding access to OST treatment, information work regarding prevention of Covid-19, vaccination, support of the clients of the program in this difficult life situation.

What would help you overcome the difficulties / challenges that have arisen in a more successful, more effective manner?

It goes without saying that during Covid-19 the solution to the most serious problems lies in the beginning of the practical implementation of new regulatory documents at the OST sites. We would also like to reach a certain consensus with the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the functioning of the OST program in general, its effectiveness and the need for development and expansion of its coverage.

 

 

Submission on Russia for the 80th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

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The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women named women who use illegal substances in Russia a particularly vulnerable group and called for the elimination of violence, discrimination and stigmatization against them.

From October 18 to November 12, 2021, the 80th session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was held at the UN headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland). The session reviewed the reports of several states that have ratified the relevant Convention, including the ninth periodic report of the Russian Federation.

Following the consideration of the reports and a series of discussions with the official delegation of the Russian Federation and with NGOs, the Committee issued Concluding Observations in which it expressed concern about “Stigmatization of and discrimination against women living with HIV/AIDS and women who use drugs”.

Recalling its general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health and target 3.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommended Russia to “Adopt measures to combat and eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination against and stigmatization of women living with HIV/AIDS, women using drugs, women in detention and women with disabilities in health care and ensure that they have access to adequate health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, antiretroviral treatment, and drug treatment”. For the first time, the Committee ranked women who use drugs as vulnerable groups of women in the Russian Federation.

The Committee also expressed particular concern about the persecution of women human rights defenders and the implementation of the Foreign Agents Act in Russia, which has forced the closure of several women’s rights organizations that provide assistance to victims of gender-based violence.

The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations were based on a thorough study of the official and alternative reports from Russia, in particular, two reports prepared by the Russian Public Mechanism for Monitoring Drug Policy / PUD Forum in cooperation with the Andrey Rylkov with technical support from the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, the Canadian HIV / AIDS Legal Network. The first report, presented during the Committee’s consideration of the list of issues at the end of 2020, was devoted to an overview of violations of the provisions of the Conventions in relation to women who use psychoactive substances. The second report, presented in the summer of 2021, drew attention to the extremely high level of violence against women who use psychoactive substances and their absolute vulnerability due to the high level of stigma and criminalization. According to a ARF study collected specifically for this report, nine out of ten women who use psychoactive substances are subjected to violence, making them one of the most vulnerable groups of women in Russia. The criminalization of psychoactive substances also led to a high level of women’s penalization and imprisonment – according to the estimates given in the report and the research of the ARF, more than half of the surveyed women using psychoactive substances were prosecuted, and most often this was due to their drug addiction.

In addition to submitting reports, on October 21, 2021, a group of non-governmental organizations[1] held an additional briefing to discuss the situation in Russia and Kyrgyzstan with members of the Committee. The briefing focused on the impact of punitive drug policies on women. In addition to non-governmental organizations, the briefing was attended by Elina Steinert, a member of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, who presented the working group’s study, completely dedicated to drug policy, “Arbitrary detention relating to drug policies,” released in May 2021, which used a lot of data from Russia and paid special attention to women. The briefing was also attended by scientists from the University of Miami, who presented global data on the vulnerability of women who use psychoactive substances to human rights violations.

We hope that the results of an intensive two-year work on preparations for the 80th session of CEDAW and the Committee’s Recommendations will be useful for organizations working to protect women in Russia and around the world. Criminalization, stigmatization and imprisonment of women who use prohibited substances undermines their equality, human dignity, civil, political, economic, labor and parental rights, deprives the prospects of development and “full disclosure of their opportunities for the benefit of their countries and humanity,” which he calls Convention. The criminalization of women for substance use stands in the way of eradicating gender inequality and must be stopped immediately.

 

[1] Andrey Rylkov Foundation  (recognized as a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice), Eurasian Harm Reduction Association, Canadian HIV / AIDS Legal Network, Eurasian Women’s Network on AIDS, University of Miami, UNAIDS, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

 

EXTENDED: EHRA is looking for writers of reports and other publications

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

RFP Number EHRA-08-01
RFP Title External consultancy. Writers of reports and other publications
RFP Closing Date and time : 24:00 EET on August 18, 2021
Proposal Submission Address: info@harmreductioneurasia.org

 Background

Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) is a non-for-profit public membership-based organization uniting harm reduction activists and organisations from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) with its mission to actively unite and support communities and civil societies to ensure the rights and freedoms, health, and well-being of people who use psychoactive substances in the CEECA region.

EHRA produce up to 20 different publications per year, based on collected information or conducted meetings.

Purpose of the consultancy

EHRA is looking for a dynamic and highly skilled individual consultant to write different reports, including analytical ones, situation overviews and other communication materials.

Scope of Services

Under the general supervision of the EHRA staff the consultant will undertake the following activities:

  • Create, edit and revise various forms of publications and communication products, including but not limited to meeting reports, situational analysis or information notes, summary regional overviews based on collected data;
  • Write additional text for drafted documents, such as the Executive Summary, additional sections or significantly re-write or re-structure drafted sections into polished English/Russian. Write shorter and/or companion communication pieces for heavier, technical reports.

Cost of services and payment order

 It is planned to sign 2 years framework contract with 3-5 selected consultants. Detailed scope of work, price and deadlines will be agreed separately for each assignment.

Qualifications and experience

  • University degree in Communications, Journalism, Creative Writing, Public Relations, Social Sciences or related disciplines;
  • Good understanding of harm reduction and broader public health for people using drugs, HIV response and drug policy. Knowledge of specifics of harm reduction in CEECA region is an asset;
  • At least 3 years of proven professional experience in writing and content development for regional or international organizations (application must include examples of various publications listed in the proposed scope of work)
  • Excellent organizational skills. An ability to produce high quality outputs, while juggling multiple inputs and meeting a deadline.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, able to communicate and work with diverse people
  • Strong research and excellent writing skills in English or Russian.

Evaluation criteria / requirements for candidates:

Submitted applications will be evaluated by the evaluation panel of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association.

An evaluation panel will assess the extent to which proposals submitted in response to this announcement meet the evaluation criteria below.

The minimum technical score is 80. Only candidates with a minimum score of 80 points out of a maximum of 100 are considered eligible for the assignment.

The candidates with the highest technical score that meets the requirement will be invited for negotiation of the agreement

 

Сriteria: Points
Experience in writing and quality of the portfolio (must include publications related to public health, harm reduction or drug policy) 60
Diversity of portfolio 20
Specialized education 20
 

Maximum possible number of points

  

100

 This announcement shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

Terms of payment and other conditions same as a final timeline will be indicated in the agreement which EHRA will sign with the winner.

How to apply

To be eligible as a EHRA consultant, any organization or individual must comply with the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association Code of Ethics which you can find at the following link: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/ehra-code-of-ethics/

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  1. Letter of interest with references to a portfolio of works or/and links to publicly accessible samples of work with indication of the price of the work on each.
  2. CV
  3. If you haven’t worked with EHRA before – contact details of at least two recent professional referees

Please submit your proposal to the info@harmreductioneurasia.org .

In the subject line of your e-mail please indicate  the RFP number and your name.  Otherwise, the application will not be considered.

Participate in the regional training on “Criminalization costs” and drug laws

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The criminalization of people who use psychoactive substances in the Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia (CEECA) region, instead of maintenance of public health and safety, increases the financial and social burden on the states. For people who inject drugs, approximately 58% will experience incarceration in their life.

Incarceration costs 2 to 6 times more than treatment from health and social service groups. However, in almost all the countries in the CEECA region, due to de facto criminalization of people who use psychoactive substances, harm reduction and other health services are severely underfunded and depend on international donors. Guidelines from the World Health Organization recommend that at least 40% of people who use opioids receive opioid substitution therapy (OST); however, most countries in the CEECA region barely reach 20%.

Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) is inviting activists from the community of people who use psychoactive substances, as well representatives from organizations, working in the drug policy and harm reduction field in CEECA region, to apply for the participation in the regional training on “Criminalization costs” and drug laws.

Aim of the training is to learn how to use EHRA developed materials “Criminalization costs” and drug laws in the advocacy work. More information about “Criminalization costs” is here: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/ru/criminalization-costs-2/, and more information about drug laws, you can find here: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/ru/drug-laws/.

During the training we will:

  • present “Criminalization costs” and drug laws materials;
  • together with participants discuss how it can be used practically in their work;
  • provide a creative space for creating new statements followed by supporting arguments, which can be used in advocacy work, based on the pocket guide on “Criminalization costs”;
  • discuss how drug laws differ in CEECA region countries and prepare general recommendations on what works / does not work.

 

Training is planned to be held on 29-30 September in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

 

While selecting participants for the workshop, the following will be taken into account:

  • personal motivation of the participant;
  • experience working towards changing drug laws and advocating for the harm reduction services funding;
  • country (to ensure equal opportunities for participation from different countries in the region).

 

Deadline to submit application:  8 August, 2021

 

Submit your application here: https://forms.gle/9PbejPpojkuTtU2z8

EHRA is looking for writers to prepare short articles on the state of harm reduction in CECCA countries

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In 2020 within the preparation of Eurasia chapter of the Global State of Harm Reduction Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) conducted interviews with national partners. Based on the gathered information EHRA recently started publishing articles providing an overview of harm reduction and drug policy developments in each country of CECCA region.

Article structure example: https://old.harmreductioneurasia.org/countries/slovenia/

EHRA is looking for writers to prepare similar short informational texts on the 20 countries (the consultants can choose the number of articles they are willing to work on).

Based on the desk research and transcripts of interviews selected consultants should prepare 3–5 pages informational text about the country in English or Russian.

Selection criteria:

The submitted applications will be evaluated by the selection committee of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the bids (the maximum possible number of points is 100):

  • Quality of the portfolio (must include publications related to harm reduction or drug policy) (60 points)
  • Literate English or Russian (25 points)
  • Relevant education (15 points)

EHRA will consider for the contract only applicants that scored at least 80 points out of 100.

This announcement shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

Terms of payment and other conditions same as a final timeline will be indicated in the agreement which EHRA will sign with the winner.

How to apply

Applicants must submit the following documents to maria@harmreductioneurasia.org, the subject of the letter is “Call writer”, the deadline for submission is before 24:00 EET on April 26, 2021:

  1. CV
  2. Letter of interest with suggested consultancy fee for 1 text and number of articles the consultants is willing to work on (USD)

 

 

EHRA is looking for a consultant to develop regional report on new psychoactive substance use in CEECA region

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The Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) as a part of the three years project of the International Harm Reduction Consortium “We Will Not End AIDS Without Harm Reduction” is looking for a consultant to develop a regional report on new psychoactive substance (NPS) use in CEECA region.

Tasks of the consultant and expected results:

  • To read and analyse 8 country reports[1] on NPS use in Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Estonia and Lithuania.
  • To prepare outline for the report and agree it with EHRA.
  • To prepare regional report (in English or Russian), based on the above-mentioned reports, not exceeding 30 pages.

Proposed timeline:

All tasks should be completed in the period from 3rd May till 30th June, 2021.

Selection of the consultants will be done by the Commission in EHRA, based on the following Evaluation criteria:

  • Relevant experience in developing regional/ international reports (40 points)
  • Relevant experience in harm reduction/drug policy field and/or in new psychoactive substances (30 points)
  • Fluency in written Russian and/or English (30 points)

Condition

This announcement and its attachments shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

Terms of payment and other conditions same as a final timeline will be indicated in the agreement which EHRA will sign with the winner.

 

HOW TO APPLY?

The candidates are invited to submit their:

  • CV
  • Letter of interest with the suggested consultancy fee (in EUR or USD) and
  • 1-2 examples of the regional/ international reports, developed by the candidate.

Please, send your documents by e-mail referenced under title “NPS report consultant” to Eliza Kurcevic at eliza@harmreductioneurasia.org by 23rd April 2021, 23:59 EET.

Results will be announced by 28th April 2021. Each candidate will be contacted individually.

Any questions regarding the participation should be sent to eliza@harmreductioneurasia.org

[1] Lithuania country report will be published on EHRA website in the end of April/ beginning of May

EHRA is looking for national consultant in Georgia to analyze the changes in the harm reduction packages and unit costs during transition from international to domestic funding

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Despite commitment by governments to continue HIV prevention among key groups, transition has significantly weakened community systems and interrupted services. Available packages and quality of harm reduction services are decreasing even if services are supported. Lack of political support for harm reduction, not only as an HIV prevention measure but as a social service, is one of the main obstacles to sustainable and sufficient funding for quality programmes.[1]

Since harm reduction (HR) programs have been first introduced in the countries the package of provided services changed and varies from country to country. Georgia recently started funding the HR services from domestic resources through social-contracting and public procurement.

EHRA is looking for national consultant in Georgia to analyze the changes in the harm reduction packages and unit costs during transition from international to government funding.

Objectives of the consultancy:

  • Analyze changes in unit cost per client, list/package of services since HR services were introduced in the country using secondary data (applications to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, budgets or target setting in national documents, national AIDS response strategies, standards/packages of services and/or national unit costs calculations, state procurement tenders and contracts with service providers);
  • Describe the rationale behind the changes in the package and/or unit costs (interviews with 2-3 key national informants involved in decision-making process)
  • Analyze the impact of occurred changes in unit costs and package of HR services on services provision, quality of provided services and client satisfaction with them (interviews with services providers and community representatives/clients from different cities of the country)

Steps of the consultancy:

  1. Secondary data analysis
  2. Development of questionnaires in consultation with EHRA and national consultants from other 3 countries (Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, North Macedonia)
  3. Interviews with key informants (the list of informants should be approved by EHRA)
  • 2-3 with national stakeholders involved indecision-making process regarding unit costs, standards and packages of services
  • 5 with harm reduction services providers from different cities of the country
  • 10 with clients of opioid substitution and needle and syringe programs
  1. Prepare draft analytical report based on the collected data
  2. Finalize the report based on EHRA’s feedback

Expected results of the consultancy:

  • Analytical report in Russian or English (up to 30 pages) on how the transition process affects harm reduction packages, unit costs and quality of provided services.
  • Suggested recommendations for donors and governments based on the analyzed data and interviews with key informants
  • Translation of the report into the national language

Proposed timeline: All tasks should be completed by June 15, 2021.

This call for proposals is organized within the  “Thinking outside the box: overcoming challenges in community advocacy for sustainable and high-quality HIV services” project of the Eurasian Regional Consortium financed by the Robert Carr civil society Networks Fund (RCF).

The Eurasian Regional Consortium joins the efforts of Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM), Eurasian Women’s AIDS Network (EWNA) and Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) to effectively address the lack of financial sustainability in prevention, treatment, care and support programs for the key populations vulnerable in terms of their rights violation and the risk of HIV.

Selection criteria:

The submitted applications will be evaluated by the selection committee of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the bids (the maximum possible number of points is 100):

  • Knowledge and understanding of GF funding and national procurement procedures (25 points)
  • Clear understanding of situation with harm reduction funding in the country (25 points)
  • Relevant work experience (analytical reports) (20 points)
  • Established connections with service providers (15 points)
  • Experience in monitoring and evaluation (10 points)
  • Fluent Russian or English (5 points)

EHRA will consider for the contract only applicants that scored at least 80 points out of 100.

This announcement shall not be construed as a contract or a commitment of any kind. This request for proposals in no way obligates EHRA to award a contract, nor does it commit EHRA to pay any cost incurred in the preparation and submission of the proposals.

Terms of payment and other conditions same as a final timeline will be indicated in the agreement which EHRA will sign with the winner.

How to apply

Applicants must submit the following documents to maria@harmreductioneurasia.org, the subject of the letter is “Call UC”,the deadline for submission is before 24:00 EET on April 16, 2021:

  1. CV
  2. Letter of interest with suggested consultancy fee (USD) and number of working days (8 hours/day)
  3. List of potential respondents from organizations providing harm reduction services

 

 

[1] https://www.hri.global/files/2020/10/26/Global_State_HRI_2020_2_2_Eurasia_FA_WEB.pdf

Sex, rights, gender: hastening the sunrise

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EHRA Senior Program Officer Maria Plotko spoke with chairwoman of the board of the Club ” Svitanok ” Svetlana Moroz about their study on “Access of women who use drugs to sexual and reproductive health, HIV and harm reduction services in Donetsk and Lugansk oblast”, advocacy for the rights of women who use drugs, and the situation with gender-sensitive services in Ukraine.

Club ” Svitanok ” is the first organization in Donetsk region created by HIV-positive people who use drugs. Club “Svitanok” provides assistance to HIV-positive and drug dependent people. Since 2012, Svitanok  focuses on working with marginalized women.

https://club-svitanok.org.ua

 


Could you please tell us about your research? How did it appear and what are the results?

It all started in 2018, when began planning our first large project aimed specifically at sexual and reproductive health of women who use drugs in Donetsk and Lugansk oblast. This is a zone of military conflict in Ukraine. The project was funded by “Doctors of the World” (Médecins du monde) from their office in Paris. There were three main objectives. First to improve access to services, second to assess the needs, and third to build a network of friendly medical institutions and doctors.

As part of the second objective on needs assessment, we decided to conduct a community-led research. As a result, we interviewed 150 women who use drugs. 100 from Donetsk oblast, 50 from Luhansk. This study helped us better understand the socio-economic , and other barriers including internal ones related to armed conflict, which prevents women from accessing the sexual and reproductive health and other services.

We conducted two roundtables in Severodonetsk in Kramatorsk, where we invited as many stakeholders as it was possible – government officials, representatives of law enforcement and social services. Of course, representatives of the community of people who use drugs, women who use drugs. At the beginning of last year on the basis of the study report we prepared questions for the List of issues for  Ukraine  in the context of the implementation to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discriminations against Women (CEDAW) and spoke at the meeting of   the Committee in Geneva.

How did the stakeholders in Ukraine react to the results of your research?

Ambivalently. In Severodonetsk I remember the woman who is responsible for the supervision over the work of law enforcement bodies, when hearing some of the stories about police violence, asked to send her the link to the full text of the report to check it out. We, in turn, on this round table learned that during the reallocation of drug addiction center from Luhansk to Severodonetsk,  only the male branch was left and female – not. This means that now drug dependence treatment in hospital is accessible only for men. Local community groups try to push this agenda but, unfortunately, they did not have much success.

In Kramatorsk, a representative of the regional health department was surprised to hear that women did not seek ART. “How is it possible that women did not seek ART? It is available!”. So we had to discuss that the availability of ART in the AIDS  Center or in the center for infectious diseases does not always mean that women who use drugs will go there. It might be related to other, so-called social determinants, like stigma, discrimination, poverty, lack of information. The results of our research were also useful to the initiative group of women who use drugs from Slavyansk, when they joined regional coordination committee on AIDS and Tuberculosis.

Do you think the officials heard you? Has this research helped to bring any changes?

Actually, speaking about the work of these regional coordination councils, we are sometimes just glad that they meet. In general, they are quite sympathetic. But on the other hand we would like to see some political will, concrete actions, but this is more complicated.

In the pre-war times, we have had many effective solutions and this partnership gave results. In the current situation, HIV – positive people, key communities, unfortunately, have not yet become a priority. We have to prove over and over that you should not disregard these groups. People still have these stereotypes you have treatment, substitution therapy therapy, ART – what more do you want?

Therefore, issues related to human rights, stigma, discrimination, and especially gender inequality, are very difficult to convey, to convince officials that these issues matter and must be dealt with. Our study is one of the few resources and arguments.

We also shot a film in collaboration with Drug Users News , it is called “Waiting for the Sunrise. Women of Donbass” (Svitanok means sunrise in Russian). In this film there is a part about the woman who was tortured in the Luhansk People’s Republic in 2014 for being a patient of opioid substitution therapy. At Svitanok has its own history with Natasha Zelenina , who was sentenced to 11 years for drug trafficking in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. We are still fighting for her freedom,  the European Court  of Human Rights already issued interim ruling, and Natasha was  included in the prisoners’ exchange list, but continues to be held illegally in the occupied territories. When we talk about this at the meetings of Ukrainian coalition on CEDAW, to other women, and feminist organizations, it helps to make them understand why women who use drugs should not be excluded from the feminist agenda.

Could you speak more about the coalition on the report to CEDAW. Is it the first time you participate in it?

As Club “Svitanok” yes. Previously, we engaged with it through national organizations, participated in various meetings. I  like this coalition because it is really very diverse. It includes both women with multiple discrimination, and traditional for CEDAW groups like Roma and rural women. We are fighting for our marginalized women to also become a tradition. This year I was invited to facilitate the session on women living with HIV, and women who use drugs.

Now the finalization of the coalition report is underway, although it is not yet clear when the Committee will consider Ukraine, since Ukraine itself has not submitted the ninth periodic report.

For how long has this coalition exists and who is coordinating it? Does it work only within the framework of CEDAW or does it also deal with other issues?

It definitely isn’t its first year, back in 2014 “Positive women” was asked to delegate representative to share expertise on women living with HIV. And in 2017, we were invited to participate in the development of national plan for monitoring of the implementation of the Convention and the recommendations of the Committee. This is also an important that we not only write reports, but also participate in monitoring processes at the country level. The work of the coalition is coordinated by Kyiv Institute of Gender Studies, they have established good cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, embassies and foundations that promote women’s equality. 

In November 2020, 140 people gathered at the webinar to discuss report to CEDAW. This is the first time I have witnessed such involvement at the national level. There were womens’ organizations from all over Ukraine, plus officials as high as deputy ministers.

Is it possible to build new partnerships through this coalition? Promote issues such as access for women who use drugs and/or living with HIV to shelters for women survivors of violence?

Of course it is possible. I think in some ways we have contributed to the fact that the 2018, Prime Minister Volodimir Groysman signed the new standard position on shelters, which removed  infectious diseases as a barrier. Which means that now women living with HIV have unrestricted access. Although, we still have to work on removing ” drugs or alcohol intoxication”.

One of the coalition’s members is Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Kateryna Levchenko. So there are people responsible for shaping public policy in the context of gender equality and can be our allies.

How would you assess the overall situation with gender-sensitive services in the context of HIV in Ukraine?

Promotion and implementation of gender sensitivity in HIV programs is very ad hoc, not structured, not organized, mostly through the initiative of individual organizations. And I believe that we still have quite limited expertise in this. Although it declared everywhere, but in fact the number of real gender transformative services and interventions is very limited. Usually everything comes down to  “we fund women’s organizations.” And the idea that gender policies should be cross-cutting in all organizations that work in HIV is not promoted in any way, unfortunately.

There are local governments that try to ban the use of the word “gender” in normative documents altogether, and do not accept gender programs. On top of that the prohibition of equality marches in support of the LGBT community and inter-factional groups in parliament that advocate “traditional values”. Soon we will have women’s march. We’ll see. This is usually a very important event for us.

March 8?

Yes. In Kiev we are usually guarded by lots of police, because often there are attacks, Zelyonka (triarylmethane antiseptic dye) or gas attacks. Sometimes it seems that there are more police officers than participants. March organizing committee is planning security system, communication, organize columns and ambulances, so it would always be nearby.

Such a harsh reaction to the fact that women are defending their rights?

As if that wasn’t enough, there are anti-feminists and other women who come and try to join us in a column and shout their own slogans “Death to feminism” and all that. And in small towns it is even worse. If the police do not work adequately, then the participants of the marches suffer greatly.

What is the attitude towards women living with HIV and women who use drugs in the march organizing committee? 

It’s ok with women living with HIV as long as they don’t touch the topic of sex workers and motherhood for women who use drugs.

 Last year we spoke in support of sex work and came across a lot of criticism. The fact that we oppose Article 164 of the Family Code, which says that drug addiction, alcoholism can be grounds for deprivation of parental rights, is also not supported.

Do you think it is likely that 164 article abolished will be abolished any time soon? Are there any advocacy activities on this issue?

Organisation VONA does a lot to promote this. They’ve created a movie with Drug Users News  “Targets” , and also wrote to the office The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. She replied that she “saw no signs of discrimination”.

But, nevertheless, we had a big victory last year, on February 25th. On that day, the ECHR ruled  in favor of drug dependent women from Russia who was deprived of her parental rights. On the same day, we won an appeal in court in Dnipro regarding the parental right of HIV positive drug dependent woman. Our activist Luda Kolomoets from “Positive women” worked on this case together with other lawyers.

How accessible is legal aid to women in such situations?

Now this area is actively developing, even the Global Fund supports it. It is already recognized as a priority at the level of national policy, for example, in a strategy for an integrated response to human rights barriers which includes ccess to justice for women from key populations, including women who use drugs.

 

In 2020, as part of the Eurasian Regional Consortium project “Thinking outside the box: overcoming challenges in community advocacy for sustainable and high-quality HIV services” with the support of the Robert Carr Fund for civil society networks (RCF), EHRA issued 3 sub-grants to promote community-led research. Club “Svitanok”.