As the Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), I am delighted to be a Harm Reduction Advocate supporting the work of Harm Reduction Australia in calling for increasing investment in harm reduction interventions and opposing the criminalisation and incarceration of people who use drugs, and disproportionate penalties for drug offences in particular the death penalty. IDPC is a global network of over 130 civil society organisations advocating for national and international drug policies that are grounded in the principles of human rights and human security, social inclusion, public health, development and civil society engagement.
As a Harm Reduction Advocate, I look forward to working with Harm Reduction Australia to call for an end to repressive and punitive measures aimed at eradicating the drug market and a reorientation of drug policies towards principles of human rights, public health and social justice.
Ann Fordham directs the work of IDPC, leading on the coordination and development of the network. Ann was appointed as Executive Director in 2011. She joined IDPC in 2008 as the first coordinator of the network and in that time has grown the network from 32 to more than 130 organisations.
Ann leads on international advocacy efforts on drug policy and human rights, specifically calling for reform of laws and policies that have proven ineffective in reducing the scale of the drug market and have negatively impacted vulnerable population groups such as people who use drugs and growers of illicit crops. She represents IDPC at international events and works with policy makers and civil society partners around the world to review and shape drug control policies towards more humane, effective approaches that are based in principles of human rights and public health. Ann is regularly invited to comment on global drug policy issues in the media.
Ann has a Masters Degree in Human Rights from Sussex University where she specialised in human rights and harm reduction. Her previous role was at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance where she was engaged in policy work around prevention, treatment and care for people who use drugs.
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