The Czech Republic Annual Report 2010 Drug ... - Drogy-info.cz

elated Health Issues in Prisons (p. 128). Mention should be made of the discussion held in 2010 between the
professional public represented by the service providers, the police, and local administration authorities regarding the
establishment of a drug consumption room for injecting drug users in the context of tackling the issue of open drug
scenes; see also the chapters on Initiatives on the Part of Civil Society and the Professional Community (p. 11) and
Problem Drug Use (p. 48).
7.3 Prevention and Treatment of Drug-related Infectious Diseases
7.3.1 Low-Threshold Harm Reduction Programmes
The prevention of infectious diseases is one of the key services provided by the low-threshold facilities. Harm
reduction measures are mainly implemented in Czech low-threshold facilities in the form of exchanging needles and
syringes, distributing condoms, providing/mediating tests for infectious diseases, and spreading information on the
risks related to drug use. The target population of the low-threshold facilities includes problem drug users,
experimenters, and their families and friends. In addition, programmes aimed at drug users in the nightlife setting are
also being implemented.
The type and volume of the services vary from one low-threshold programme to another. Nevertheless, the system
of quality certification, which is a prerequisite for subsidies from the state budget and from certain regional budgets,
guarantees a certain minimum quality of services; for details see the chapter on Drug-Related Treatment: Treatment
Demand and Treatment Availability (p. 55).
The network of low-threshold facilities comprises low-threshold centres and outreach (streetwork) programmes. In
2010, there were 96 of them in total; see Table 7-1.
Information about the services provided in the low-threshold facilities and about the recipients of such services is
mainly available from the final reports drawn up by the facilities for the purposes of the subsidy proceedings of the
Government Council for Drug Policy Coordination 103 . The total number of drug users maintaining contact increased
again in 2010, to 32.4 thousand individuals, and so did the number of injecting drug users (IDUs) and pervitin users
(Národní monitorovací středisko pro drogy a drogové závislosti, 2011j); see Table 7-1.
The service most commonly used in low-threshold programmes is the exchange of needles and syringes and
distribution of paraphernalia, which is understandable, considering the high percentage of IDUs among HR
programme clients; see Table 7-2.
In terms of regional distribution, the low-threshold programmes in Prague, followed by those in the Ústí nad Labem
and Moravia-Silesia regions, again reported the highest numbers of contacts in 2010. The highest number of
individual exchanges in exchange programmes was reported from Prague (approximately 114,000), followed by the
Ústí nad Labem (approx. 38,000), Moravia-Silesia (approx. 15,800), South Moravia (approx. 13,300), and Central
Bohemia (approx. 11,000) regions (Národní monitorovací středisko pro drogy a drogové závislosti, 2011j). A detailed
account of the services reported by the low-threshold programmes in 2010 by region is provided in Map 7-1.
Table 7-1: Clients of Czech low-threshold facilities in 2002–2010 (Mravčík et al. 2010; Národní monitorovací středisko
pro drogy a drogové závislosti, 2011j)
Indicator 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Number of low-threshold
92 93 92 92 90 109 100 95 96
programmes
Number of drug users n.a. 25,200 24,200 27,800 25,900 27,200 28,300 30,000 32,374
– injecting drug users 19,000 16,700 16,200 17,900 18,300 20,900 22,300 23,700 24,500
– pervitin users 12,900 11,300 12,200 12,300 12,100 14,600 14,900 16,000 17,500
– opiate users 8,000 6,100 6,000 6,800 6,900 7,300 8,300 8,900 8,100
– heroin users n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 4,000 4,100 4,600 4,950 4,200
– Subutex ® users among
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 2,900 3,200 3,700 3,950 3,900
opiate users
– cannabis users 3,400 5,500 4,100 3,600 2,700 2,000 1,700 2,200 1,908
– inhalant users n.a. 705 560 470 450 390 300 250 324
Average age of drug user
22.0 23.2 23.4 25.0 25.3 26.1 26.4 27.4 27.0
(years)
103
The number of programmes is influenced by the projects submitted by low-threshold facilities for subsidy proceedings, and by the
formal differentiation of the individual activities. A low-threshold centre or outreach programme may be both operated and conducted by
a single entity within a single project and, in other cases or in other years, they can form two or more separate projects. Despite these
influences, the offer and availability of low-threshold services in the Czech Republic have remained stable in recent years.
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