Dutch Harm Reduction Netwerk goes international with: Webinar - Heroin Assisted Treatment in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Norway

Innovations and lessons learned

Heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) is used in several countries as a treatment option for people with severe opioid dependence for whom conventional treatments have not been sufficiently effective. For this specific group, HAT can offer an important alternative when conventional treatment options do not provide sufficient benefit.

During this webinar hosted by the Harm Reduction Network, experts from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Luxembourg will share their experiences with HAT. While countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands have nearly 30 years of experience with HAT, others have introduced these programmes much more recently. This diversity in experience offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on how HAT has evolved over time and what lessons can be learned for future implementation and development.

The presentations will explore how HAT is organised and delivered in each country, looking at topics such as eligibility criteria, accessibility, staffing, treatment retention, strengths and challenges, and recent innovations.

What can we learn from the different approaches to HAT across Europe? What works well in practice, what challenges remain, and which lessons can we learn from each other?

Programme and Speakers

• Dr Thilo Beck is an addiction psychiatrist and Chief Physician at Arud in Switzerland. He will share insights into heroin-assisted treatment and the Swiss approach.
• Ronald Kemp is manager of Omnizorg in Apeldoorn, an integrated care service providing medically supervised heroin treatment, offering a practical perspective on innovations in the organisation of HAT in the Netherlands.
• Desiree Eide is a researcher at the Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF) and has been directly involved in evaluating Norway’s first heroin-assisted treatment clinics in Oslo and Bergen.
• Dr Esther Zwick is a general practitioner and Head of the substitution programme at Fondation Jugend- an Drogenhëllef in Luxembourg. She will share insights into diacetylmorphine-assisted treatment and the Luxembourgish approach.
• Discussion and Q&A

Practical information

• Date: Monday, 19 October 2026
• Time: 12:00-14:00
• Online (via Microsoft Teams)
• Register below