Since late last year, we have been working together with The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), Mainline Foundation, and Frontline AIDS on the development of the Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course.
With our recently launched Digital Learning Solutions Health[e]Foundation builds on its extensive experience in developing and implementing e-learning solutions by offering services to organizations and clients to convert their learning methods into an online and/or offline (blended) training. These services offer the opportunity to collaborate with valued international partners and contribute to knowledge exchange and capacity building on important matters related to health. As part of this new service, Health[e]Foundation has been collaborating on the development of the Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course.
Drug decriminalisation is the removal of criminal penalties for certain activities related to drug use. The key objective of decriminalisation is to end the punishment and stigmatisation of people who use drugs. When implemented alongside a harm reduction-oriented approach, decriminalisation can provide a basis from which health interventions can be voluntarily accessed by people who use drugs – without fear of stigma, arrest, and detention. Drug decriminalisation has led to impressive public health improvements, including a reduction in overdose deaths and new HIV diagnoses due to injecting.
The Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course spans across a series of carefully designed interactive modules that take participants through a number of topics and issues relevant to drug decriminalisation. Recently developed modules include: Introduction, Definitions and support for Decriminalisation; Existing Models of Decriminalisation; and Making the Case for Decriminalisation. The course will be offered via the Moodle e-learning platform for all who are interested to learn about the topic.
In the next weeks, we will pilot the course with the IDPC and Mainline Harm Reduction team. We will incorporate their feedback to further improve the modules and platform before we open up our digital doors for the world. We will keep you posted about the progress and let you know as soon as the Drug Decriminalisation [e]Course is ready!
