This session explored the enduring barriers to implementing harm reduction policies at an institutional level despite recommendations to adopt such practices being readily available for some decades. It painted a bleak but real picture of the lack of progress made to date and harms that prohibition policies have caused.

The panel of experts from government, healthcare and community activist organisations from Australia and New Zealand all demonstrated incredible professional commitment to lobbying for harm-reduction policies, tackling stigma and discrimination to those accessing these services and educating the next generation of clinicians to be better equipped to care for and support people with substance use disorders, and not perpetuate this through poor prescribing practices. The panellists were moderated by Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, CEO of Monash University Malaysia who provided an invaluable insight in the widely differing approaches to people with substance use disorders across the Asia Pacific region. Illuminating that the ‘global’ shift of opinion from prohibition to harm reduction is not seen everywhere, with the same level of support or commitment. As such, there is a significant dearth of harm reduction services outside of Australia/NZ and a disproportionate burden on blood borne virus transmission related to drug use in other countries within the Asia Pacific.