Our Work
NAPUD primarily works in the areas of public health, harm reduction, drug policy, and human rights protection. This is achieved through educational activities and advocacy on public health issues, Harm Reduction, drug policy, and human rights protection among key stakeholders within the Asian countries' population, government bodies, health professionals, the expert and scientific community, media, key population communities CBOs, and civil society organizations on a national, regional and international level by means of Conferences, workshops, Seminar, Consultations, Expert Group Meetings, Press-Conferences, informational, communicational, media and advocacy campaigns.
Our Approach
NAPUD is the focal point in the Asia Pacific region for all issues related to drug use and its impact. We firmly believe in the “Nothing About Us, Without Us” approach and the “Meaningful Involvement of People who Use Drugs” (MIPUD) principle.
Highlights
Strengthening Drug User Movement - Small Grants Projects
NAPUD, with support from the RCF grants through INPUD as its lead consortium partner, is implementing the Innovative advocacy approaches to address health and rights of People who Use Drugs project (IAAP) in three countries, Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam. This small grant is aimed at strengthening the Drug User Movement and network strengthening in NAPUD represented countries.
Ashokta Punarbashan Sangstha (APOSH) is a community-based organization for people who use drugs in Bangladesh. It was founded in Rajshahi in 1999 as a self-help group for former drug users. It established a voluntary detoxification, treatment, and rehabilitation center in 2000, through which APOSH has helped nearly 12,256 vulnerable and marginalized people who use drugs. In 2003, APOSH partnered with CARE Bangladesh's HIV program to provide drug detoxification and rehabilitation to participants in the DFID-funded Harm Reduction program. APOSH has innovative advocacy initiatives with law enforcement agencies, such as a tripartite collaboration with the Metropolitan Police & Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), raising awareness and involving the larger community in harassment prevention and the protection of the rights of People who Use Drugs (PUD).
Recovering Nepal (RN) is a community of amazing and diverse individuals, organizations and thematic networks. Formally, as an overarching umbrella organization, it is the National Federation of People who have a history of drug use and drug service organizations dedicated to resolving the problem of drug use in Nepal. Recovering Nepal originally began its work as an improvised support group, organically out of sheer necessity, in 2001 by individuals and activists living with HIV/TB and coming from a drug user background to address the need for treatment, care, support, and activism to advocate for access to medicines for both HIV and Drug Use. Recovering Nepal works to reform policies and bring about positive social change in society such as ending stigma & discrimination, reforming laws and policies, and building the capacity and providing technical assistance to communities while advocating for increased access to affordable, quality, and comprehensive healthcare and medical support services related to HIV such as harm reduction, drug treatment, hepatitis treatment, HIV testing, psychosocial counseling and life skills enhancement for Key Populations.
Vietnam Network of People who use Drugs (VNPUD) is community-based organization that works to support access to essential services for people who use drugs across the country. The focus of VNPUD-HOPE lies upon community systems strengthening (CSS) organizing community consultations to identify key advocacy issues, rebuilding network membership, building information collection system and capacity building. VNPUD is also working on assessing the impact of the new drug regulation among people who use drugs in major provinces of Vietnam.