Young people across the world use opioids and experience drug-related harms yet remain excluded from many opioid-related harm reduction policies and services. In this commentary, we trace our collective advocacy as young people who use opioids and youth harm reduction workers from Canada, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Uganda, and the United States.
Specifically, we describe the creation of our Youth RISE cohort in 2023 and our community engagement to strengthen access to harm reduction for young people globally. Over a two-month period, we held weekly online meetings where we exchanged perspectives and experiences with three set thematic discussion topics—needs, challenges, and recommendations—related to youth opioid use and harm reduction within our respective countries.
This article was produced by the Youth RISE International Working Group team, and published in the Harm Reduction Journal. You can download it below or read it here.
