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Joyce S.H. Djaelani Gordon, is a psychologist, and the Founder of Yayasan Harapan Permata Hati Kita (YAKITA), a Drug Addiction and Treatment Recovery Community based in Ciawi, Bogor, West Java. She has been actively involved with various health GOs since 1984, among others, the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association and Friends of Youth in Jakarta, as well as international NGOs such as Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Project Concern International (PCI), CARE, WHO, John Snow, UNFPA, UNICEF and others as an AIDS Consultant as well as Adolescent Health consultant. In 1995, she started working closely with young drug users and addicts. Her concern with drug abuse and addiction stemmed from her interest and expertise on issues related to adolescent health, reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS. She was an Ashoka fellow (2003), and earned awards for her early involvement in the AIDS field from the Indonesian Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Health (2007), and for her contributions in the drug abuse field (Sarinah Award 2014) and Marga Pratama (2007) from the Indonesian National Narcotics Board).
Harm Reduction in Indonesia: At a Difficult Juncture
Harm reduction started in Asia about two decades ago, as a response to both the increase in injecting drug use and the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region. Most of these programs were spearheaded by community organizations and NGOs, often in conflict with the more moralistic approaches of their respective governments. Indonesia began moving toward the adoption of harm reduction policies in 1999, when various stakeholders gathered to discuss the state of AIDS and injecting drug use in the country.
