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The UNODC Regional Office for South Asia, in partnership with the Governments of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka) is executing project RAS/H71 titled, "Prevention of spread of HIV amongst vulnerable groups in South Asia".
Under phase II of the project which focuses on 'Advocating for and Provision of Oral Substitution Treatment (OST) in
Prisons of South Asia' a
study tour for government officials (from member countries of South Asia) was organized from 25th to 29th July to the Islamic Republic of IRAN.
The purpose of the mission was to
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Enable government officials (primarily prison/ medical officials) to see the successful comprehensive harm reduction programme in prisons of Iran.
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Understand how models for harm reduction have been successfully implemented in prison settings.
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Understand the linkages with the harm reduction initiatives in the community and the post release arrangement for the prisoners' seeking and accessing OST treatment.
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Facilitate the delegates' interaction with policy makers, programme managers, and experts dealing with OST in prison settings.
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Understand the synergies between the various stakeholders (Government, Civil Society etc) in the actual service provision at the prison sites.
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Advocate and share lessons for effective rolling out in their respective countries.
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Develop a model based on the learning from Iran and facilitate the rollout in the participant's respective countries.
18 senior officials from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and Nepal and 2 officials from UNODC participated in this study tour. This helped them to understand the significance and the need for rolling out of OST intervention in their respective countries and accepting OST as an efficient method for harm reduction. Delegates appreciated the best practices in implementing harm reduction strategies in Iran.
All the participant member countries expressed their support and interest in initiating oral substitution program in prison settings in their countries. The study tour also facilitated sharing of best practices among member countries.
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