Concurrent 2C: “It’s the first time anyone’s asked me what I want”: optimising NSP coverage by focusing on the values and preferences of people who inject drugs
Tracks
Track 3
| Wednesday, October 15, 2025 |
| 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM |
| Hall C |
Details
Recent investment in hepatitis C prevention implementation trials in low- and middle-income countries have brought to the fore participatory and community-led research methods designed to deliver harm reduction programs that deliver low dead-space needles and syringes and reflect the values and preferences of people who inject drugs. These activities have accelerated discussions on new ways to approach the procurement and deployment of optimised harm reduction commodities to enhance local NSP coverage and the global NSP impact. This session aims to conceive a paradigm-shifting and practical blueprint for NSP commodity procurement that translates community research practices and outcomes generated in the current Unitaid hepatitis C prevention portfolio. The session will explore the potential for pragmatic tools to help donor recipients make community-informed decisions when requesting and procuring NSP commodities that are effective at reducing injecting-related risks and harms. In the context of updated practical guidance from the WHO for establishing and maintaining NSPs, we will explore how pragmatic practices can catalyse a new era of global harm reduction that places the needs of people who inject drugs at its centre.
Speaker
Dr E. Sophia Schroeder
Senior Research Officer
Burnet Institute
Setting the scene: participatory research and implementation approaches to addressing challenges for optimal NSP coverage in low- and middle-income countries
4:00 PM - 4:07 PMBiography
Mr. Aniedi Akpan
Executive Director
Drug Free And Prevention Healthcare Organisation (DAPHO)
Delivering community-led research to understand needle-syringe preferences among people who inject drugs in Gombe state, Nigeria: perspectives and experiences
4:07 PM - 4:17 PMBiography
I am a drug user and drug user activist. I am experienced in peer mobilization and Harm Reduction service provision.
Mr Abdullahi Muktar
Outreach Coordinator
Drug Free And Preventive Health Care Organization (dapho)
Delivering community-led research to understand needle-syringe preferences among people who inject drugs in Gombe state, Nigeria: perspectives and experiences
4:07 PM - 4:17 PMBiography
Abdullahi Muktar is an experienced Outreach Worker with the Drug Free and Preventative Healthcare Organisation (DAPHO), dedicated to supporting people who use and inject drugs (PWUD/PWID). With over five years of experience in community outreach and harm reduction services, he plays a vital role in promoting safer injection practices, improving access to health services, and providing psychosocial support to key populations. He has lived experience of injection practices with peers, which strengthens his connection with the community and enhances the effectiveness of his interventions. Abdullahi is passionate about reducing HIV and Hepatitis C transmission and advocating for the health and human rights of people who use and inject drugs. Phone:(+234) 0706-669-2301
Ms Vielta Parkhomenko
Member, Chair
Club Eney, VOLNA
Optimising Ukraine’s needle-syringe programming through community-led research
4:17 PM - 4:27 PMBiography
Vielta Parkhomenko is a feminist activist from Ukraine with lived experience of drug use. She uses her personal story to support and empower other women who use drugs. Vielta holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and has over a decade of experience in NGO leadership, training development, and project coordination.
Dr Annie Madden
Project Lead
International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)
Why values-based research matters and how to make it count: translation to harm reduction policy and practice
4:27 PM - 4:37 PMBiography
Ms Susie McLean
Senior Adviser: HIV Prevention
Global Fund For Aids TB And Malaria
Panel Discussion
4:37 PM - 5:27 PMBiography
Mr Juma Kwame Mhina
Executive Director
TaNPUD
Panel Discussion
4:37 PM - 5:27 PMBiography
Mr Andrew Preston
Founder/Managing director
Exchange Supplies
Panel Discussion
4:37 PM - 5:27 PMBiography
I founded Social Enterprise Exchange Supplies to develop equipment to improve harm reduction by better serving the needs of people who inject drugs, starting with products that were illegal to distribute. In 2007 we developed the world’s first syringes with coloured plungers to reduce accidental receptive sharing, and in 2013 made the world’s first affordable low dead space detachable needles to reduce the risk of HIV and hepatitis C transmission. In addition to developing products and educational resources, Exchange Supplies employs people who inject drugs, and provides on-site peer delivered needle and syringe programme for their local community.
Sr. Program Officer Viviana Rivas
Market Access Lead
PATH
Panel Discussion
4:37 PM - 5:27 PMBiography
Mr Ernst Wisse
Harm Reduction Advisor
Médecins Du Monde
Panel Discussion
4:37 PM - 5:27 PMBiography
Dr E. Sophia Schroeder
Senior Research Officer
Burnet Institute
Concluding Remarks
5:27 PM - 5:30 PMBiography
Professor Mark Stoové
Head of Public Health, Head of Justice Health Research
Burnet Institute
Concluding Remarks
5:27 PM - 5:30 PMBiography
Chairperson
E. Sophia Schroeder
Senior Research Officer
Burnet Institute
Mark Stoové
Head of Public Health, Head of Justice Health Research
Burnet Institute
