Webinar: Syringe Service Programs – A Critical Public Health Intervention

Cross-posted from the HHS.gov Hepatitis blog

Webinar: Syringe Service Programs – A Critical Public Health Intervention

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 2:00 PM (EDT) - 3:00 PM (EDT)

This webinar will allow you to engage with HHS leadership around syringe services programs (SSPs), which are an important community-based prevention program that can save lives, combat the nation’s opioid crisis, reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C and support individuals in accessing  treatment services for substance use disorder/opioid use disorder.

Speakers:

• ADM Brett Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health and Senior Adviser for Opioid Policy;
• RADM Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, Director, CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention;
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (invited);
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (invited).

Participants: state/local public health, law enforcement, corrections, harm reduction organizations, state/local elected officials, SUD/OUD programs, faith-based organizations, federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs), healthcare providers and other relevant organizations.

Register here 

Syringe services programs or SSPs are community-based prevention programs that can provide a range of services, including linkage to substance use disorder treatment; access to and disposal of sterile syringes and injection equipment; and vaccination, testing, and linkage to care and treatment for infectious diseases, including hepatitis B and C.

SSPs protect the public and first responders by facilitating the safe disposal of used needles and syringes. Providing testing, counseling, and sterile injection supplies also helps prevent outbreaks of other diseases.

Nearly thirty years of research shows that comprehensive SSPs are safe, effective, and cost-saving, do not increase illegal drug use or crime, and play an important role in reducing the transmission of viral hepatitis, HIV and other infections.