Advocating for access to controlled Medicines to avoid fatal overdoses

Opioid overdose is the leading cause of avoidable death and is a growing public health problem in Kenya. However, it can be easily averted through the use of naloxone, a safe and non-abusable substance. While opioid dependence is a treatable disease, it is a chronic disease in the sense that relapse is part of the recovery process. Preventing and managing overdose allows people to continue their progress towards recovery and may enable them to seek out other life-saving services. VOCAL-Kenya is taking lead in establishing data to challenge duty bearers to deliver services to the people. Currently, it is difficult to accurately estimate the number of fatal opioid overdose in Kenya because of the poor quality and limited nature of mortality data available.

Capacity building and grassroots Organizing for people who use drugs

Developing leadership at the grassroots level help to increase self-efficacy for people who use drugs and challenge the dominant socio-cultural narratives and norms that perpetuate their exclusion and marginalization. This includes participation in defining and prioritizing issues that impact them, such as the right to health in formal policy spaces and informal community spaces, in order to advance their rights. Meaningful engagement of these community members, in order to demand better services and policies, is key. The VOCAL Community Leadership Forum allows community members to engage on a platform that works to accelerate access to health and justice for people who use drugs. This forum is designed to coordinate efforts towards effective community engagement, growth and innovation influence to address barriers to harm reduction, and monitor progress towards achieving harm reduction goals in Kenya.