INTERNATIONAL HARM REDUCTION ASSOCIATION'S 21ST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

LIVERPOOL, long considered to be one of the original birthplaces of needle exchange programmes in the fight against HIV, will later this month play host to the world's largest harm reduction event, the International Harm Reduction Association’s 21st International Conference: Harm Reduction 2010 – The Next Generation. The conference will draw around 1400 participants from some 90 countries.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé will deliver the keynote opening address at the conference opening ceremony on the evening of Sunday, 25 April 2010.

Harm Reduction programs such as clean needle exchange programmes and opioid substitution therapy (e.g. methadone) were introduced some 25 years ago in European cities like Rotterdam and Liverpool and in countries such as Australia. It was one of the first successful measures to prevent HIV infection through injecting drug use. The practice was widely adopted as public health policy in many countries and along with safe sex campaigns is considered a major factor in the relatively low HIV infection rates in those countries.

Nearly three decades later, injecting drug use is now driving the globe´s fast growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in Eastern Europe. Some 65 per cent of HIV infections in Russia for instance, are through injecting drug use. The number of HIV infected people in Russia has increased tenfold in the past decade from an estimated 100, 000 to one million. Eighty per cent of HIV positive people are under 30 years of age. Methadone is illegal.

2010 is the year that Universal Access to HIV prevention, treatment and care was meant to have been achieved and yet the global average is fewer than two clean needles a month per injector, and only four per cent of injecting drug users living with HIV are on HIV treatment.

Against this background, the conference's opening Plenary Session on Monday, 26 April 2010, will focus on the financing and coverage of harm reduction programmes across the globe. Speakers will include Prof Gerry Stimson, Executive Director of the International Harm Reduction Association, Bradley Mathers from the Reference Group to the UN on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, Urban Weber of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Alvaro Bermejo, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

An opening press conference featuring the plenary speakers will take place at 10.45 am immediately following the plenary. 3 Cents a day is not enough, a ground breaking report on the financing of HIV Harm Reduction will be launched at the press conference.

The theme of the Plenary Session on Tuesday, 27 April 2010, is Decriminalisation and Beyond and will feature presentations by Martin Acuña, Trial Judge on Criminal Matters in Argentina (on drug policies in Latin America), Ann Fordham, Coordinator of the International Drug Policy Consortium (on decriminalisation), Fatima Trigueiros (on national drug strategies in Portugal) and Steve Rolles, Head of Research for Transform Drug Policy Foundation (on options for control after the war on drugs).

The closing day of the conference on Thursday April 29 will feature a special session titled Harm Reduction for Producer Nations? Farmers' Perspectives on the War on Drugs with speakers from Colombia, Burma, Afghanisatan and Bolivia.

The closing Plenary Session will focus on law enforcement, scientific evidence and drug policy, hepatitis and mainstreaming evidence based harm reduction policies. Presenters include: Philippe Bourgois, Richard Perry University, Professor of Anthropology & Family and Community Medicine; Evan Wood, Director of the Urban Health Research Initiative at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS; Margaret Hellard, Director of the Centre for Population Health at the Burnet Institute and Teguest Guerma, Director ad interim of the WHO HIV/AIDS Department.

What:- “The Next Generation” - Harm Reduction 2010: International Harm Reduction Association’s 21st International Conference

Where:- BT Convention Centre, Monarchs Quay, Liverpool, UK

When:- Sunday, 25 April - Thursday, 29 April 2010

About Harm Reduction 2010

The event, now in its 21st year, has become the focal point for knowledge sharing, networking and promoting evidence-based best practice in the field of reducing harms from drugs and alcohol. The delegates include front line workers, researchers, policy makers, politicians, people from international organisations, people who use drugs and people working in criminal justice. The conferences have helped to put harm reduction on the map and to coordinate advances, innovations, evidence and advocacy in this field for the last two decades.

The significance of Liverpool as host city

The conference returns to Liverpool which hosted the first event back in April 1990. Liverpool has a proud history of both public health and harm reduction. It was the first city in the world to appoint a Medical Officer of Health back in 1847 and, in the 1980s, developed the ‘Mersey Harm Reduction Model’ for reducing drug related harms. The city opened the ‘Mersey Drug Training and Information Centre’ (MDTIC) in 1985 – a drop-in centre which provided honest information about safer drug use and, in 1986, opened one of the world’s first formal needle and syringe exchange programmes (in a converted toilet!). As such, Liverpool contributed significantly to the adoption of harm reduction across the UK and Europe, which then helped to establish harm reduction around the world.

About the Organisers

IHRA. The International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) is the leading organisation promoting a harm reduction approach to all psychoactive substances on a global basis. IHRA exists to prevent the negative social, health, economic and criminal impacts of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco for individuals, communities and society. IHRA combines a public health and human rights based approach to reduce drug-related harms. It builds strategic alliances and partnerships with national and international organisations, supports the engagement of people affected by drugs and alcohol, promotes the human rights of affected populations and counters their marginalisation and stigmatisation.

Conference Consortium. Consortium is a unique independent company formed by a group of drug, alcohol and criminal justice service providers, and trade unions, professional and national organisations in the UK. The aims of the Consortium are to provide a forum to encourage discussion and debate on policy and practice in the fields of alcohol, drugs and criminal justice, disseminate information on research and good practice, foster thinking and new ideas, promote honest dialogue with respect for differing views, and encourage transparency in pursuit of its aims.

Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). Liverpool John Moores University is a major academic institution in England. It was originally founded as a small mechanics institution (the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts) in 1823 and was later called Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992. It serves over 24,000 students – making it the largest institution in Liverpool – and has played a vital role in the regeneration of Liverpool. LJMU has also remained at the forefront of exciting developments in areas such as multimedia, sports science and public health – and was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2005.

SKELTON’S COURIER SERVICES SET TO BOOST BUSINESS AS MEMBER OF TRANSPORT EXCHANGE GROUP

SKELTON'S Courier Services in Liverpool is set to boost its bottom line and expand its business portfolio having joined the Transport Exchange Group as a member company.  Skelton’s Courier Services is  one of nearly 200 new member companies to join both its Haulage and Courier exchanges, since the beginning of the year (2010).

Skelton’s Courier Services brings the total membership to over the 2000 mark making it an excellent start to the company’s 10th anniversary year. Indeed the company is enjoying its highest influx of new members since it was first launched a decade ago.

The Transport Exchange Group operates the busiest online freight exchanges available to the UK road transport industry and over the past months has continued to go from strength to strength.  Its offering is unique in the industry and offers a trading platform for couriers and hauliers which is both robust and secure.

Liverpool based Skelton’s Courier Services has joined the exchange in the wake of a year of ever increasing costs, squeezed margins and the highest fuel duty in Europe recognising the value of using a mechanism such as the exchange to enable them to both expand their business offering whilst at the same time boosting their bottom line

Lyall Cresswell, Managing Director of the Transport Exchange Group commented:- “We are delighted to welcome Skelton’s Courier Services to the Exchange.   The transport industry has had a tougher year than most and has faced soaring costs. This in turn has forced operators to look to other means of reducing costs and so boosting their bottom line. The exchange is an ideal way to do this.”

In addition to the increase in membership the Transport Exchange Group has also been enjoying record growth in terms of number of loads posted in recent months which Lyall Cresswell believes is clear evidence that the benefits of using an exchange are finally being recognised.

He continued:- “Our services enable transport operators such as Skelton’s Courier Services to work together and share the financial burden of rising fuel prices, congestion charges, tolls and the need to comply with legislation. It is indeed a winning formula and one which not only has financial benefits but offers environmental advantages as well.”

In addition to the fundamental service offering, the Transport Exchange Group has built a unique and sophisticated set of easy to use solutions to further increase the benefits of the exchange for members. These include providing electronic trading, from order confirmation to invoice approval and payment, an interactive map of loads and journeys available along a route, eliminating the need to scroll through lists, and a mobile solution which enables businesses to use the exchanges on the move.

RICS UK Commercial Property Survey - April 2010

THERE are signs of a turnaround in the commercial property market in the North of England, where rental expectations for the three main sectors offices, retail and industrial space have improved slightly, according to the latest RICS’ UK Commercial Property Survey published on 22 April 2010.

The figures for Q1 2010 revealed that while rental expectations are still in negative territory they have improved on the last quarter of 2009. The net balance of chartered surveyors reporting rental expectations has risen from -22 to -16. The year on year improvement is dramatic, however, as in Q1 2009 the net balance figure was -78.

The net balance is calculated by subtracting the percentage of chartered surveyors reporting a falling figure over the previous three months from those reporting a rising figure. The last time rental expectations were positive in the North of England was Q3 2007.

Within the northern region, there is a wide difference in market conditions but in general, the figures for the first three months of the year are showing that enquiries are improving across the board and while availability has decreased it is still showing a positive net balance. This echos the national picture, where available space is also declining. However, even though the amount of available commercial property space has declined in the North, surveyors still reported a wide portfolio of office, industry and retail property available in the region.

The survey also revealed that confidence in the outlook for lettings increased this quarter, and enquiries for all areas of commercial property space also rose, especially for office space, where 24% of surveyors in the North reported a rise in enquiries, up from a net balance of zero back in January.

Furthermore, 8% of surveyors also reported a rise in demand for offices, compared with 4% last quarter. However, demand for industrial and retail space slightly declined, with some surveyors voicing concerns of the impact that the upcoming election will have on regional lettings activity following the anticipated public sector employment cuts.

Development starts and completions in the region also moderated across all three areas of commercial property, with new starts on industrial buildings slightly increasing from a negative net balance of 39% to minus 32%.

Also, there is a changing balance of power between landlords and tenants. Growth in inducements being offered by landlords to secure a letting has moderated across all regions and sectors. However, in central London, 45% more surveyors reported a fall rather than a rise in inducements for offices compared to 9% in the fourth quarter.

Jennifer Welch, Operations Director for RICS North West, said:- "It look like we are beginning to see a return of confidence to certain sectors, although it is very fragile. The uncertainty around the General Election isn't helping and has proved an opportunity for some property decision-makers to defer committing to new space. However, the 'flight to quality' is still apparent, with parties able to do deals on commercial space across all sectors to acquire premises of a better quality than they could afford a few years ago."

Commenting on the national picture Oliver Gilmartin, RICS senior economist said:- “The latest results suggest that a still modest recovery in lettings demand has greatly lifted rental expectations for London offices where development has floundered in recent years due to a dearth in development finance. There are some signs that a lower pound and a gradual rebalancing of the UK economy towards greater export activity is starting to feed through into industrial lettings activity most notably in London and the South. Office lettings activity continues to rise modestly across the country although surveyors still remain cautious. Indeed, there are worries that some regional office markets could suffer a setback as public sector employment cuts weigh on demand, whoever wins next month's election. Growth in investment transaction activity continued in Q1 albeit at a slower pace outside the capital. The stronger the price gains this year the less scope for further rises in 2011 without a corresponding rental recovery. Indeed, the investment recovery may be reined in by rising borrowing costs in the event of a hung parliament.”