Background:
Since mid-2024, civil society actors in Benin (BORNES) and Togo (PFO, EVT), with support from Médecins du Monde, have implemented harm reduction services in their own structures. These services, including methadone support via CEPIAC (Benin) and CEPIAK (Togo), have also been extended to several health facilities and drug use sites.
Methods:
The approach consists of empowering civil society organizations through mentoring, coaching, training and the provision of harm reduction resources related to drug use. To this end, 6 actors from the two countries took part in an exchange visit to Côte d’Ivoire to get a better idea of the current situation and the harm reduction approach.
Results:
To date, 64 actors (community, medical and psychosocial) have been trained in harm reduction, outreach and psychosocial activities. A pool of trainers was created from these training courses and feedback sessions held within civil society organizations. On the other hand, structures have been adapted for activities (toilets, nutrition, recreational activities, etc.) and the care of people who use drugs has been strengthened by the provision of primary care medicines.
Conclusion:
In perspective, these are the deployment of peer educator teams in drug use centers and sites, and the finalization of biobehavioral studies underway in the 2 countries. |