Public Meeting Will Include Presentations from Key Experts, including Vital Strategies’ Overdose Prevention Lead, Daliah Heller, Alongside Federal Officials
Press and Public Invited to Attend Virtual Event January 30 – 31, 2024; Register Here
January 26, 2024 (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – At the request of the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is convening a two-day virtual public workshop titled “Harm Reduction Services for People Who Use Drugs: Exploring Data Collection, Evidence Gaps, and Research Needs.” It is the first time ever that such a convening is focused on harm reduction. This historic event will gather key experts, including individuals with lived experience, alongside federal officials to consider strategies for: preventing overdose and infectious disease transmission; enhancing the health, safety, and wellbeing of people who use drugs (PWUD); and offering low-threshold options for accessing substance use disorder treatment.
Daliah Heller, Vice President of Drug Use Initiatives at public health organization Vital Strategies, will help to ground the event as a presenter at the opening session, “Harm Reduction Strategies – A Historical Perspective and an Overview of Where We Are Today.”
- “Evidence from Harm Reduction Programming Outside the United States,” which will provide an overview of international harm reduction efforts, examine best practices and lessons learned from research abroad.
- “Federal Landscape for Harm Reduction Research,” which will examine the current state of data collection coverage and gaps at the federal level, as well as barriers to the implementation of harm reduction services at the federal level.
- “Strategies for Harm Reduction Research, Implementation, and Data Collection at the Local and State Level,” which will explore the current state of data collection coverage and gaps at the local and state levels, implementation strategies, barriers to harm reduction services, and more.
For complete information about the workshop and agenda, and to register to participate in the event, interested individuals can visit this link.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our overdose prevention program works to strengthen and scale evidence-based, data-driven policies and interventions to create equitable and sustainable reductions in overdose deaths. Work across seven U.S. States is supported by funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Overdose Prevention Initiative, launched in 2018, and by targeted investments from other partners.
Learn more here.