The Guardian: Misuse of opioids such as tramadol and fentanyl is ‘global epidemic,’ report finds (Beaumont, 6/27). The Guardian: Death sentence quashed for teenager who killed rapist husband in Sudan (Burke/McVeigh, 6/26). The Guardian: The Ugandan girl who trekked barefoot to escape marriage at 13 (Okiror, 6/26). The Guardian: ‘Toxic…

U.N. News: U.N. anti-drug conference offers ‘opportunity to chart a better and balanced path’ forward — U.N. chief “Inclusive partnerships are essential to addressing drug challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the top United Nations panel dealing with all aspects of narcotic drugs. ‘With the U.N.…

The Hill: The U.S. and the U.N. can be allies in the global opioid fight Jordie Hannum, executive director of the Better World Campaign “…U.S. government collaboration with the right partners is key to combat the growing threat of opioids. … [T]ackling [the opioid] problem is not simply a matter…

PLOS Medicine: The expanding epidemic of HIV-1 in the Russian Federation Chris Beyrer, professor at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues “…The continuous growth of the Russian HIV epidemic is a failure of…

Deutsche Welle: Hate, discrimination lead to rise of HIV in Russia, experts say “Experts are shocked over the spread of HIV in Russia and Eastern Europe. The problem has reached epidemic proportions, despite the fact that methods for stopping the spread of the virus are well known…” (Esipov, 10/19).

Washington Post: Duterte’s ‘drug war’ is fueling the spread of disease “…Front-line advocates in [Cebu City] in the central Philippines say [President Rodrigo Duterte’s] violent anti-drug campaign is pushing users ever further underground, fueling the spread of disease by stopping efforts to get them clean needles. Those who work with…

New York Times: How to Win a War on Drugs Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist “…Portugal … has become a model for a drug policy that is not only compassionate but also effective. … The public health approach arises from an increasingly common view worldwide that addiction is a…

PRI: While the Russian government looks away, AIDS spreads quickly “…AIDS has plagued Russians for decades, but stigma around the disease has been heightened by a government that prefers to pretend it doesn’t exist, activists say. [Dr. Yelena Orlova-Morozova, one of Moscow’s leading HIV doctors for the region’s state clinic,]…

U.N. News Centre: Interview: Head of U.N. drug body urges greater access to treatment for women “Women continue to be disproportionately affected by drug use and face obstacles in accessing treatment, compared to men, according to the president of the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Viroj Sumyai, who…

Devex: HIV treatment: Strategies to reach the next 10 million patients “The last time the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science met [in Paris] in 2003, fewer than two million people globally were on HIV treatment. As the event returned to Paris this week, UNAIDS reported 19.5 million people…