Vital Strategies and the New Mexico Department of Health Launch Nine-Week Radio Campaign to Promote Naloxone, Buprenorphine and Other Harm Reduction Strategies.
(Albuquerque, NM)—Top radio personalities in New Mexico are taking to the airwaves in a campaign to stem the tide of overdose deaths in New Mexico, and especially among Hispanic communities. Through the end of January, radio hosts are promoting crucial health measures to help save lives in the state and reduce stigma towards people who use drugs.
The media campaign will be broadcast by Albuquerque-based radio personalities Kiss 97.3 KKSS host Gina Lee Fuentez and 93.3 The Q KOBQ host Carlos Duran on these two local radio stations. They will highlight where to access critical overdose prevention resources, including naloxone, a safe and effective medication for reversing an opioid overdose, and buprenorphine, a medication for treating opioid dependence, managing cravings, and preventing opioid withdrawal.
Fatal overdose rates in Hispanic communities, especially in Bernalillo and Rio Arriba counties, remain higher than the overall population rate in New Mexico. Vital Strategies is teaming up with influential radio personalities via the Albuquerque radio stations where they broadcast to empower Hispanic communities to take action.
“Stigma creates a culture of silence about drug use and overdose, especially in the Hispanic community. The Albuquerque radio campaign shines a light on this topic and the racial inequities that prevent people from accessing lifesaving harm reduction resources like naloxone and buprenorphine,” said Gloria Malone, Digital Strategist and Senior Manager for the Overdose Prevention Program at Vital Strategies. “Local radio hosts have always spoken up about issues in their communities, and we’re proud to partner with them to get the word out about how the overdose crisis disproportionately impacts the Hispanic community and how that no longer needs to be the case.”
Listeners will be urged to visit the New Mexico Department of Health’s (NMDOH) web-based naloxone access portal NMHarmReduction.org. The website aims to facilitate and expand access to health resources for New Mexicans at risk of overdose, and to educate individuals and families on how to use naloxone to save a life from overdose. Since launching in September 2023, NMHarmReduction.org has delivered more than 500 naloxone kits directly to homes across the state.
“Our Department of Health has been a national leader for making naloxone widely available in our state for years now,” said David Daniels, NMDOH Harm Reduction Section Manager. “Countless lives have been saved because easy access to naloxone exists in New Mexico through state public health offices, private pharmacies, and law enforcement statewide.”
The campaign will also provide listeners with information about buprenorphine for opioid use disorder treatment, available at 35 Public Health Offices across the state, and more soon to be established. Building on a successful model used in the southwestern region of the state, the NM Pathways program offers in-person or telehealth services to individuals for buprenorphine treatment at little or no cost. Both initiatives seek to make it easier for New Mexicans to access critical resources that save lives and improve health outcomes.
“This radio campaign is an extension of the New Mexico Department of Health’s tireless efforts to reduce overdose deaths across the state and ensure that New Mexicans can utilize evidence-based harm reduction interventions,” said Donette Perkins, a Program Manager with the Vital Strategies Overdose Prevention Program. “Expanding buprenorphine for opioid use disorder services across the state and increasing accessibility to naloxone will save lives and improve health outcomes.”
The ad campaign seeks to combat the stigma surrounding overdose, and to share information and make it easier for New Mexicans to access critical health resources for preventing overdose and saving lives.
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 at https://www.vitalstrategies.org/programs/overdose-prevention/
About The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH)
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is one of the executive branch agencies of the State of New Mexico. To ensure health equity, we work with our partners to promote health and well-being and improve health outcomes for all people in New Mexico. The Department provides a statewide system of Health Promotion and Community Health Improvement, Chronic Disease Prevention, Infectious Disease Prevention, Injury Prevention and other Public Health services. Prevention and early intervention strategies are implemented through the Department’s local Public Health Offices and contracts with community providers.