‘Why Harm Reduction Should Drive Public Health Policies’

President of the African Medical Association, Dr. Kgosi Letlape, has tasked African governments to adopt harm reduction approaches when regulating public health challenges.

Speaking during the third annual Harm Reduction Exchange themed: ‘Amplifying the voice of Harm Reduction advocacy across Africa’, Dr Letlape said harm reduction is a more transformative strategy than prohibition-based policies and is better than simply advocating for complete abstinence.

Letlape who also heads the Association of Medical Councils of Africa said harm reduction is a better approach to reducing tobacco-related death and disease.

“Harm reduction is a practical and transformative approach that incorporates community-driven public health strategies including prevention, risk reduction, and health promotion to empower people who use drugs and their families with the choice to live healthy and self-directed.

“We hope that our lobbying efforts will spark renewed conversations on tobacco harm reduction among all stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers, which could lead to effective regulation and access to noncombustible product alternatives for adult smokers who are unable or uninterested in quitting,” Dr. Kgosi said.

Across the world, harm reduction strategies have been deployed in public health as a pragmatic and compassionate approach to address various issues, particularly in the context of substance use and other risky behaviors. Some of these strategies include Needle Exchange Programs, supervised injection sites, condom distribution, PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), Vaping and E-Cigarettes, and supervised consumption of medications.

Kenyan medic, Dr Viviane Manyeki, said; “Organizations that practice harm reduction incorporate a spectrum of strategies that meet people where they are on their own terms and may serve as a pathway to additional health and social services, including additional prevention, treatment and recovery services.”

The Integra Africa principal, Dr. Tendai Mhizha, emphasized the role journalists and media houses should play in handling misinformation and disinformation in tobacco harm reduction discussions.

“The media play a critical role in accelerating the progress towards full uptake of harm reduction strategies in all spheres of health across the continent. With the advent of technology, we find that misinformation and disinformation are becoming increasingly prevalent with the democratization of the information space. Moving forward, there is a need to ensure that stakeholders are well informed with current and relevant information about the science, the changes that occur and how we can advance towards a smoke-free world,” Dr. Tendai said.

She noted that raising awareness for tobacco harm reduction (THR) as a public health strategy encourages adult smokers who are unable or uninterested in quitting tobacco altogether to migrate to noncombustible product alternatives insisting that “THR has the potential to bring about one of the greatest public health achievements  of our time

Harm reduction refers to interventions aimed at reducing the negative effects of health behaviours without necessarily extinguishing the problematic health behaviours entirely or permanently.