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Virginija Ambrazevičienė Public Health Program Director Open Society Fund – Lithuania

Lessons learned from working with politicians in the recent crisis created after Lithuanian Parliament committees rejected EU Drugs Action Plan. Virginija Ambrazevičienė Public Health Program Director Open Society Fund – Lithuania. Coalition on Vulnerable Populations "I can live“.

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Virginija Ambrazevičienė Public Health Program Director Open Society Fund – Lithuania

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  1. Lessons learned from working with politicians in the recent crisis created after Lithuanian Parliament committees rejected EU Drugs Action Plan Virginija Ambrazevičienė Public Health Program Director Open Society Fund – Lithuania

  2. Coalition on Vulnerable Populations "I can live“ Founded in February 2004 Unites 13 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of three different types

  3. I. NGO’s of vulnerable groups (people with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, drug users and their families) • Lithuanian Positive Group • Initiatives of Drug Addicts’ Mutual Support • Association of HIV/AIDS Positive Women and Their Relatives

  4. II.Organizations providing treatment, rehabilitation, harm reduction and other services to vulnerable groups: • Klaipėda Drug and AIDS Prevention Group • Lithuanian Foundation for Drugs Users Support (Vilnius) • Organization helping drug users and people with HIV/AIDS "Deliverance" (Druskininkai) • Rehabilitation Center “Miekštų dvaras” (Ignalina) • Lithuanian Red Cross Association, Alytus Committee, Anonymous Consulting Center for Social Diseases "Trust"

  5. III. Organizations, strengthening civil society and protecting human rights, including rights for vulnerable groups: • Open Society Fund-Lithuania • Human Rights Monitoring Institute • Center for Civic Initiatives • Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network, Secretariat • Family Planning and Sexual Health Association of Lithuania

  6. Coalition partners: • National Health Council • Vilnius Center for Addictive Disorders • Vilnius Center of Skin and Venereal Diseases

  7. Cooperation with: • Drug Control Department • Prison Department • Seimas Committee for Health Care Issues • Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania • Municipalities of Vilnius, Klaipeda, Alytus, Mazeikiai, and others

  8. HR in Lithuania: HR programs started: • Methadone treatment - 1995, Vilnius, (Druskininkai, Klaipeda) • Needle exchange – 1997, Klaipeda, Vilnius Only recently HR has been included into National strategies • National AIDS prevention and control program 2003-2008 • National Strategy on Prevention of Drug Addiction and Drug Control for 2004-2008

  9. Challenges for NGOs and government: • Very few pieces of the integrated essential HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services, recommended by WHO or UNAIDS, are being provided, • Access to existing services is not satisfactory, • Stigma and discrimination of vulnerable population.

  10. The EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 and Action Plan 2005-2008 • European Council endorsed the EU Drugs Strategy (December, 2004) that includes actions in reducing drug related harms to health and society. • The EU Drugs Action Plan 2005-2008 – is under being considered by the EU member states at the EU Council’s Horizontal Drug Group

  11. The EU Drug Action Plan 2005-2008 has been discussed at the Lithuanian Parliament: • The Drug Addiction Prevention Commission; • The Committee of Health Affairs; • The Committee of Legal Affairs; • The Committee of European Affairs. Result:strong attack against HR

  12. Various actors are involved in this open attack: • Parliamentary Committees • The Drug Addiction Prevention Commission • Political parties (the Labor party and Conservatives) • The Ministry of Science and Education; • NGOs supported by European Cities Against Drugs • Doctors (toxicologists) • Media (The “Respublika" publications group)

  13. The reasons may be: • Conservatives: close relations and common values with republicans in the US • The Labor party: financial, relations with Russia • The Respublika:OSF-Lithuania reacted to their previous anti-Semitic and homophobic publications • Strong influence of European Cities Against Drugs

  14. Their main arguments – often lies: • George Soros’s aim – to legalize the drugs • HR has recently been heavily criticized by the US • EU member states have lately been giving up HR • HR leads to increased drug use • Throughout the world, substitution maintenance treatment (methadone) lasts a very short time, a month or two at the most • Few drug users successfully finish methadone therapies

  15. Articles against HR: • Methadone users are made testees; • Methadone admirers; • Drug addicts’ parents against methadone; • The Parliament’s resistance against methadone increases.

  16. Articles against the OSF-Lithuania: • OSF-L accused of drugs advocacy • OSF-L tentacles aim at politicians (Octopus points at politicians) • Parliament horrified by the OSF-L activities • OSF-L starts a war with the Parliament; • OSF-L supports deadly chemical abortions

  17. Decisions of Parliament committees: • Committee of European Affairs (CEA) rejects the position of the government that supports the EU Drug Action Plan -2005-2008 (March 25) • CEA recommends the government to review its position on the HR issue (March 25) • Committee of Health Affairs recommends closing methadone substitution treatment programs (April 6)

  18. Actions in defending HR: • International level • National level

  19. International level: • IHRD, CEE-HRN and OSF-L contacts WHO and UNAIDS and urges them to react; • WHO EURO signs a letter (Marc Danzon) to the Lithuanian President, the Chair of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Health; • UNAIDS signs a letter (Peter Piot) to the Chair of the Parliament and the Prime Minister; • Letters by other international organizations working in the area of HR.

  20. National level (1): • Printed information on HR prepared and distributed to politicians, journalists and specialists • A letter of methadone patients to heads of the state to plea for their right to continue the treatment (more when 160 signatures collected in 3 days) • The Lithuanian Association of Psychiatry makes an argumentative statement in support of the harm reduction program (April 13th) • Meetings with decision makers: heads of GO, leaders of different parties

  21. National level (2): • Press conference held by two centers for addictive disorders, methadone patients and their parents (duration about 1,5 hour) • Service providers, drug users and representatives of NGOs actively participate in TV and radio debates, press conferences, public discussions

  22. Results of activities supporting HR: • Good press coverage and initiation of public debates; • President of the LR met the community of Kaunas Center of Addictive Disorders and expressed his support to HR; • Government of the LR approved the draft of the EU Drug Action Plan for 2005-2008 including HR (April 13) • The Parliamentary Committee of European Affairs together with the Committees of Health Affairs and the Drug Addiction Prevention Commission „in essence approved the draft” (April 19)

  23. Most current situation: • Lithuania endorsed the draft of the EU Drug Action Plan 2005-2008 with a condition that reads, “in due regard with national legislation” • A 25 person work group is formed “To analyze the HR and alternative programsand decide upon the ways of implementation of the alternative programs in Lithuania. In such a way the unassociated with drug usage programs shall gradually exchange the programs, related to different forms of drug usage further legalizing” (Conf. Declaration“Alternatives to Harm reduction”, Vilnius, May 20, 2005)

  24. What should we do? • It is necessary to further work with politicians • More facts and announcements that deny previous false accusations should show up in mass media

  25. The crisis has revealed (1): • Society and politicians know too little about the issues and treatment of drug users • HR is a complex issue understood only by specialists – it is necessary to raise more general questions • People believe in “well presented lies” • Nobody wants to go into trouble of denying these lies (US Embassy) • We trained too few HR specialists (Emilis, Aleksandras) and advocates

  26. The crisis has revealed (2): • Even the organizations that support HR (WHO, LAC) do not dare to publicly express their opinion • GOs urge NGOs to advocate instead of advocating themselves • Weak professionals organizations, each having their individual interests and unable to defend the cause • Drug user organizations are still too weak for active involvement

  27. Lessons learned: • We should always be prepared for new attacks against HR • We should remember that with each harder attack, fewer allies remain with us • In critical situations, people are afraid to express their opinion • We should have a strategy for handling such crises • We should have a clear public relations strategy for an everyday work and for crises • Informational materials that are understandable for politicians, specialists and the public should be prepared

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