Narayanan

Palani

Palani Narayanan (he/him) is a public health expert specializing in drugs, harm reduction and drug policy reform. He co-founded the first harm reduction program amongst people who use drugs in Kuala Lumpur, called the IKHLAS Program. He was also the Lead Advisor for Malaysia’s National Harm Reduction Pilot Program between 2005 -2007, designing and implementing the pilot prorams which have since contributed to the significant reduction in HIV amongst people who inject drugs in Malaysia. He was the inaugural Chairperson of The Asian Harm Reduction Network which led the advocacy for harm reduction in Asia in 1990s through 2000s. Palani served as Senior Advisor for Department of Foreign Affairs (AusAID/Australia) on harm reduction in several countries including Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. He has worked in over 25 countries with various international bodies including UN agencies and USAID. He served as the Senior Advisor on Drugs, Harm Reduction and Drug Policy for The Global Fund between 2018 -2022. Palani currently serves as the Director of Drug Policy Program Malaysia, under the Malaysian AIDS Council and the SKPA-2 Multi Country Program.