official dinner on Drug use and HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan
Dr. Massimo Barra, Chairman, Development Commission, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
From: “The Senlis Council’s official dinner on Drug use and HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan”, Friday 02 December, Kabul
I would like to address all my thanks to The Senlis Council for inviting me to Afghanistan and for giving me the opportunity to speak on the important topic of drug use and public health.
It is an honor for me to be here in Kabul tonight in such good company.
Yesterday was a very special day, World AIDS Day.
I had the privilege to be invited by Mrs Fatima Gailani to attend the Afghan Red Crescent event on AIDS awareness.
I must say, in my long journey with the Red Cross, I have attended many World AIDS Days. But this time was very unique for me.
I saw young Afghan women and men listening to presentations on AIDS awareness and this, despite the freezing cold temperature. In a way, this is a compelling example of the Power of Humanity that is at the core of the Red Cross since its foundation.
Those young women and men assembled on this day represent in my eyes the potential to make a difference.
The potential exists in Afghanistan not to let HIV/AIDS and drug use turn into a humanitarian disaster, like it is already the case in too many countries across the world.
After the epidemic of decades of war and violence, all the ingredients are here that could lead Afghanistan to a new epidemic, the HIV/AIDS one.
Recent reports by the United Nations on drug use in Afghanistan pointed at the problems of poverty, lack of education, poor HIV/AIDS awareness among injection drug users and social stigmatization as the main drivers for growing drug use.
The ingredients for a disaster are here.
We should not underestimate the threat. I remember during the first meeting of the European Red Cross Network on AIDS, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were at the time talking about only five cases of HIV/AIDS. Eight years later, there are 50,000 reported HIV/AIDS cases in both countries, and the figure is growing.
Afghanistan is at a crossroad and it is still time to make a difference. But action has to come early enough.
If we do so, we will save thousands of lives. Afghanistan would also set the example of a country successful in stopping HIV/AIDS before it becomes an epidemic.
It will send a strong signal to other vulnerable countries; that the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be stopped on time.
Drug addiction sets a huge and often disturbing human challenge to our modern societies.
But we should not shy away from life-saving measures, such as clean needle exchange and substitution treatment. Failing to do so would be to abandon the many victims of the drugs to their own sickness.
This is a pledge the Red Cross has taken.
Since its foundation in 1864, the Red Cross has rigorously followed its core Principle of Neutrality. This is the reason why, today, the Red Cross can work everywhere, in every community, regardless of racial, ideological, religious or political divides.
But the Red Cross has also another fundamental mission: the one of advocating for the most vulnerable people.
Far from being contradictory, those two forces, if I may call them like this, meet at the key point of alleviating human’s suffering. This is where the Red Cross finds its unique power of humanity.
‘Spreading the light of science and the warmth of human sympathy’ were the words used in Paris en 1919 by the founders of the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Spreading the light of science’ is now the title of the 2003 report of the Red Cross on HIV/AIDS and Harm Reduction, which ensures that a wide range of prevention programmes, including access to sterile injecting equipment, are implemented throughout the world.
This report is a call made to the international community not to attach moral or political strings to public health practices aimed at drug victims.
Reducing harm and preventing death is a universal cause the Red Cross intends to pursue relentlessly. It achieves this through scientific evidence and by taking inspiration from the fundamental principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality.
It is my belief that harm reduction programs are vital instruments of human compassion that encourage the social and physical well-being of drug users.
Since founding one of the first drug user care centres in Italy thirty years ago, I have met more than 30,000 users. If I have learned anything, it is that stigmatisation and lack of care for drug victims is unwise and destructive, not only for the users themselves but for the communities in which they live.
Stigmatization kills more that the drug itself.
I therefore call on everybody, the Afghan government, civil society and the international community to fight stigma put on drug users and increase awareness on drugs and its health risk.
Mrs. Gailani was telling me yesterday of the urgent need to build the capacity and increase local expertise on drug use and treatment in the country.
This is the second area where I call on the international community to help Afghan people. But this help should be based on the principle of empowerment of Afghan people, and not impose itself.
To treat drug users is not so difficult and expensive – simple but effective health measures exist that do make a difference on the ground.
With its extensive experience in innovative public health measures to address drug use problems, Europe can make a significant contribution to this particular area.
As an effort that must be shared by the whole community, the reduction of harm and suffering must not remain the privilege of few advanced and wealthy countries.
The Italian Red Cross has recently launched with the Iranian Red Crescent a street unit for the distribution of clean needles and to reach out the most marginalized users in Tehran.
Similar initiatives could be developed in Afghanistan.
In mid-December in Rome, The Italian Red Cross and the International Federation will jointly host with The Senlis Council a high-level meeting bringing together the leadership of Red Cross and Crescent Societies from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Importantly, the Afghan Red Crescent will take part in this meeting.
This meeting fits into the effort I have just mentioned: to bridge the gap between public health and drug use.
This is for a better Afghanistan and a more compassionate humanity.
Thank you very much for your attention and I wish you a very good dinner.