LIVERPOOL will host a leading international drug conference expected to bring thousands of delegates into the city.
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) won a bid to host the International Harm Reduction Association’s (IHRA) annual conference in April, 2010, at the Echo arena.
The conference, which was launched in Liverpool some 21 years ago, attracts experts on drug and alcohol abuse from around the world.
IHRA is the world’s leading organisation promoting evidence-based harm reduction policies and practices.
Winning the conference is a huge coup for the city which has always had a pioneering role in tackling drug use.
Liverpool was one of the first cities in Europe to launch a syringe exchange scheme in the 1980s in response to rising concerns about the spread of HIV/AIDS.
In addition to its internationally-acclaimed research on substance misuse, in 1994 LJMU launched the UK’s first postgraduate drug use programme to adopt a multi-professional approach.
Jim McVeigh, from LJMU’s centre for public health, developed the bid with Dr Sally Woods from LJMU’s school of psychology. He said: “The conference will be an ideal opportunity for Liverpool and the region as a whole, to showcase local strategy, service delivery, research and education in the field of harm reduction and substance use.”
Dr Woods added: “Liverpool hosted the very first International Conference on the Reduction of Drug-Related Harm in 1990, so where better to celebrate its 21st anniversary than in the city where it all started?
“Hosting this conference will be our opportunity to share best practice with colleagues working in the UK and all around the globe.”
In making their decision, the IHRA said they were impressed with the city’s ongoing commitment to multi-agency working, as reflected in the range of organisations supporting LJMU's bid to host the 2010 conference.
These included Liverpool Drug & Alcohol Action Team, Liverpool Primary Care Trust, Liverpool City Council, Merseyside Police Service, Mersey Care NHS Trust, Lighthouse Project, HIT and Lifeline.
Pat O’Hare, president of IHRA, said: “As founder of the first IHRA conference, which took place in Liverpool in 1990, it gives me a great sense of pride to see it coming ‘home’ after being held all over the world in the intervening 20 years.”
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