The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), with the support of the National AIDS Program of Egypt, and funded by the global fund to fights AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis organized a national training for service providers in Egypt on managing Needle/Syringe Programs (NSPs). The training was held at the Pyramisa Suites Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, from Wednesday the 20th to Friday the 22nd of December, 2023. Participants attending the workshop included 19 service providers working in program coordination, and outreach work from civil society organizations based in Alexandria, Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Sohag, Sharkia and El Minya.
The opening of the training was attended by Dr. Walid Kamal, UNAIDS country office director; Dr. Heba Al Sayed, National AIDS Program Manager; Dr. Tariq Sonnan, UNODC regional office representative, all of whom made opening remarks and gave brief speeches on the current situation and harm reduction programs available in Egypt. Mr. Elie Aaraj, MENAHRA Executive Director also presented opening remarks and an informative presentation on Harm Reduction programs and the MENA region response. Experiences from three different organizations in Egypt that are currently implementing NSPs were shared by participants. The main facilitators of the training Ms. Sandra Hajal and Ms. Patricia Haddad proceeded in delivering sessions that addressed management of NSPs, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation, referrals to complementary services, intersections with other key populations, and challenges of the field. The facilitators adopted an interactive approach during the sessions and incorporated the methods of demonstration, group work, and exercises. Demonstration sessions on safe injecting, awareness raising, and overdose management in brief were provided to involve participants with a hands-on experience.
Plans for follow-up trainings to identify and further enhance knowledge of a selection of participants in a Training of Trainers are underway for 2024.
