Drugs and (Dis)order Interviews on the Role of Civil Society Organisations in Harm Reduction in Northern Shan State, Myanmar, 2021

Win, Kathy (2022). Drugs and (Dis)order Interviews on the Role of Civil Society Organisations in Harm Reduction in Northern Shan State, Myanmar, 2021. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-855968

Drugs & (dis)order is a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project generating new evidence on how to transform illicit drug economies into peace economies in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar. By 2030, more than 50% of the world’s poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected states. And many of today’s armed conflicts are fuelled by illicit drug economies in borderland regions. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the War on Drugs, but securitised approaches have failed. In fact, they often increase state fragility and adversely affect the health and livelihoods of communities and households. In light of these failures, there’s increasing recognition that drug policies need to be more pro-poor and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the evidence base for this policy reform is patchy, politicised and contested. Drugs & (dis)order is helping to generate pro-poor policy solutions to transform illicit economies into peace economies. To do this we will: (1) Generate a robust evidence base on illicit drug economies and their effects on armed conflict, public health and livelihoods. (2) Identify new approaches and policy solutions to build more inclusive development and sustainable livelihoods in drugs affected contexts. (3) Build a global network of researchers and institutions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar and the UK to continue this work.

Data description (abstract)

Collection of online interviews with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in northern Shan State, carried out as part of the GCRF Drugs and (dis)order project. The purpose of these interviews is to understand the role of CSOs in providing harm reduction programs and to assess the challenges and opportunities surrounding attempts to respond to drug issues in northern Shan State. Interviews focus on usage and access to harm reduction services, the role of harm reduction programs led by CSOs, the extent to which there is collaboration between different actors, and the challenges faced to improve harm reduction and community resilience to drug harm. This research was motivated by the findings of the Drugs and (dis)order project indicating high levels of drug harm in northern Shan State, with a lack of access for people to support, and criticisms surrounding harm reduction.

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