The Rise of Harm Reduction in Morocco: Successes and Challenges
Morocco has become the second MENA country after Iran to implement a nationwide harm reduction strategy aimed at stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS among people who use drugs. Moroccan civil society organizations (CSOs) have worked to devise a comprehensive strategy that will disseminate a full package of harm reduction services. The longstanding HIV/AIDS community-based organization Association de Lutte Contre le Sida (ALCS) is leading these efforts to make the national drug policy less repressive and more effective. Harm reduction is based on the notion that marginalized populations are entitled to their basic human rights, but in some countries, governments have merely used it as another tool for social control. ALCS has sought to prevent this from occurring in Morocco by remaining focused on harm reduction’s core principles.
