The Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA) organized a workshop to set a strategic work plan for the organization and to respond to harm reduction needs in the region, in addition to setting its role in this process in the Middle East and North Africa Region. An expert in strategic planning, Mr. Joost Hoppenbrouwer, facilitated this workshop in the presence of a group of MENAHRA’s stakeholders and partners from the region’s different countries.

The workshop was held between February 24 and 28, 2014 at the Padova Hotel in Beirut where an assessment of MENAHRA’S activities and plans were evaluated on the first day by the association’s team, in addition to discussing the association’s vision and aspirations for the short and long term.

On the second and third day, the MENAHRA team was joined by the managers of the knowledge hubs, “Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (SIDC)” and “the resource and training center of the Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS).” During these two days, the situation of harm reduction in the region was discussed. It also included debates and proposals on the strategic issues that the network and the knowledge hubs may face and how to develop a successful strategy to confront these problems.

On the fourth day, MENAHRA’S stakeholders and partners from the region’s different countries joined the workshop, where the situation of the harm reduction process in the region was discussed. In addition, main and necessary ideas were deliberated to specify the roles between the partners and the stakeholders in order to contribute to building an effective work strategy.

At the end of the workshop, the main points and the priority actions were decided upon in order to assist in developing the components of the strategic and operational planning. This will help ensure the success of the future steps to be taken for harm reduction in the region.