“If I want to receive opioid substitution treatment, my parents need to write a letter for me saying that I inject heroin. But I do not have a father anymore and my mother doesn’t know I am using. If she finds out that I inject …” (Julia, 16 years, Ukraine, name changed for privacy)

Julia represents a group of young people (10-24) who inject drugs (PWID). In the EECA region, one out of four PWID is younger than 20 years and therefore more susceptible to HIV transmission. This susceptibility can be explained by a lack of knowledge about risky behaviour, age restrictions that hamper access to harm reduction services, and lack of supporting policies that reinforce criminalization and marginalization. Despite the lack of age-disaggregated data, there are successful practices that tackle these issues. This meeting meets the need to exchange experiences and share global best practices to advocate for more youth-friendly harm reduction and SRHR services to fight the HIV epidemic for young PWID. The youth-led session will build an interactive and productive learning environment by understanding the barriers, sharing best practices and empowering (young) professionals to improve youth-friendly harm reduction services and the link with HIV and STIs in the EECA region.

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