The Joint Action on “HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction” (HA-REACT) brings together 23 Associated Partners and several more Collaborating Partners  to address gaps in the prevention of HIV and other co-infections (particularly tuberculosis and hepatitis) in priority areas of the EU. The HA-REACT joint action is working towards reducing, through the concerted action and promotion of best practices among the partners,  the disparities of access to preventive health and social services for a particularly vulnerable population group, people who inject drugs (PWID). 

1. May 2017, Latvia and Hungary. WP 4: Testing and linkage to care.

Training workshops on testing

This three-day training on HIV and HCV testing for low-threshold facilities working with people who use drugs.  The focus will be on practical answers for questions and problems have appeared within the first rapid testing experience. Gender-specific needs and possible services (counselling on contraception, pregnancy, HIV and mother-to-child transmission) will be highlighted. One day will be devoted to information on TB. The workshop focuses on local situations in Latvia and Hungary and is by-invitation only.

2. May 2017 – February 2018. WP7.

National workshops in Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Estonia

Each country will organise 2-5 national/regional workshops during May 2017 – February 2018.The aim of the workshops is:

  • To identify problems related to integration of services
  • To select a problem to work on during and between the national workshops
  • To describe their experience on solving the issue and propose a set of actions for further work on integration of services in their country.

Based on the national workshops each country will elaborate national policy recommendations on how to improve quality of care. Each of the four countries main conclusions are disseminated at international level (short summary among partners) and presented at the 2nd international workshop in Budapest in 2018

3. June 2017, Luxembourg. WP6.

A two-day meeting on NSP in prison settings

The meeting highlights good practices of Luxembourg prison in terms of harm reduction, the problems faced and how these are overcome. In different working groups, the aim is to find out what the barriers in the focus countries are and how we can help them to overcome these barriers. Fruitful discussions on needle exchange and other harm reduction measures are wished, a highlight will certainly be the “Save Tattoo” project. The meeting is is by-invitation, but other participants are welcome at their own expense.

4. October 2017

HA-REACT Partnership Forum

5. October 2017

3rd Advisory Board

6. October 2017

Steering Committee

7. October 2017, Latvia and Hungary. WP4.

 Training workshops on linkage to care

This three-day training for low threshold facilities working with people who use drugs will focus on referral clients with reactive HIV/HCV rapid test result to confirmatory tests and other medical and social services. The workshop focuses on local situations in Latvia and Hungary and is by-invitation only.

8. November 14-16, 2017, Warsaw, Poland. WP6.

Training workshop for prison staff

This workshop  will have a train-the-trainer format and will gather approximately 30 people who are medical, social and therapeutic staff working in prison services. The aim of this workshop is to empower the participants with adequate knowledge and skills to enable them to pass on and promote examples of best practice to their colleagues. The workshop is is by-invitation only.

9. October-November 2017, Latvia and Lithuania. WP5: Scaling up harm reduction.

Training workshops on harm reduction interventions

There will be altogether three workshops on the following themes: 1) clinical/management issues of OST provision (main target: physicians and other health care professionals), 2) key intervention components of harm reduction, and 3) overdose prevention. In the 2nd and 3rd workshops also amphetamines and hepatitis will be focused.

The overall aim of WP5 is to scale-up and build capacities for harm reduction interventions in Latvia and Lithuania with added value at European level. Training workshops contribute to serving this purpose for their part. Reduction of stigma and discrimination will be an essential part of capacity building activities.

10. 2018, Budapest, Hungary. WP7.

International workshop on models of care

Workshop goals will be inputs from the national workshops organized in 2017 in Lithuania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Estonia.

11. July 2018, Amsterdam:

Closing conference

Past events:

1. October 6-7, 2016, Berlin, Germany

​WP6 Study tour for prison staff from Czech Republic

2. October 2016, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain

WP5 Study visits for participants from Latvia

3. October 26, 2016, Budapest, Hungary

HA-REACT Sustainable Funding meeting

4. November 2-3, 2016, Riga, Latvia

HA-REACT Partnership Forum in Riga,

5. November 4, 2016, Riga, Latvia

2nd Advisory Board

6. November 4, 2016, Riga, Latvia

4th Steering Committee

7. November 2016, Latvia

WP4 Training on HIV/HCV testing

8. December 13-15 2016, Hungary

WP4 Training on HIV/HCV testing

9. January 31, 2017, Malta

CHAFEA  Symposium (in connection with HepHIV conference)

10. March 7-9, 2017, Warsaw, Poland

International training seminar on effective opiate substitution treatment programs (OST) and harm reduction activities in European prison settings

11. April 6, 2017, Vilnius, Lithuania

1st International workshop, Joint Action on HIV and Co-Infection Prevention and Harm Reduction HA-REACT

12. April 4-6, 2017, Vilnius, Lithuania

HA-REACT Financing and Sustainability of Harm Reduction Services in the EU: meeting at the 2017 EHRN CEECA Regional Conference

13. April 25-27, Prague, the Czech Republic

WP5 Study visits for participants from from Latvia and Lithuania