MARGA Day Centre for Vulnerable Women Inaugurated in Luxembourg

On Thursday 30 January 2025, Luxembourg’s Minister of Health and Social Security, Martine Deprez, together with the Mayor of the City of Luxembourg, Lydie Polfer, inaugurated the “MARGA” day centre, a space dedicated to the care of women who use illicit drugs.

This initiative is described as marking a major step forward in the support provided to a particularly vulnerable population.

A press release issued jointly by the Ministry of Health and Social Security and the City of Luxembourg stated that the “MARGA” day centre, managed by the National Committee for Social Defence (CNDS), is designed to meet the needs of women who use drugs, with the aim of better protecting them. It added that these women face complex challenges, including emergency situations, various forms of violence (psychological, sexual, physical) and often cumulative health problems, whether physical or psychiatric. These factors, combined with social insecurity, make them particularly vulnerable and difficult to support in existing mixed-gender centres.

MARGA is expected to offer an integrated and specialised environment to allow the women concerned to access their fundamental rights, receive basic medical care and adapted support to escape homelessness and gradually regain control of their lives. The aim is to implement a pragmatic approach focused on reducing risks and respecting individual journeys.

As explained in the press release, a central aspect of MARGA is its non-mixed space, where women can consume safely. At the same time, they benefit from educational and medical support designed to reduce the risks associated with their consumption. This framework also allows them to receive benevolent and non-judgmental care, to be directed towards appropriate care, and to begin, if they wish, efforts to stabilise their consumption.

It added that the services offered are varied and include medical consultations, wound care, low-threshold substitution and structuring activities. These resources help meet urgent needs and promote overall rehabilitation. The distribution of medication in daily doses, combined with educational and preventive activities, contributes to the stability of the residents.

The authorities confirmed that this centre is part of the national strategy on drug addiction, which aims to decentralise reception and care centres to guarantee fair and optimal access to services. By meeting the specific needs of women, MARGA also helps to relieve pressure on existing centres, such as Abrigado, and strengthens national initiatives for more inclusive and humane care.

Minister Deprez said: "Inaugurating a centre such as MARGA is responding to an urgent need that is recognised internationally. Women drug users need dedicated spaces reserved for them in order to reduce the risks associated with their consumption and find essential support to stabilise their lives."

Mayor Polfer stressed: "The City of Luxembourg and its partners – state authorities and project leaders – are working tirelessly to create on the territory of the capital a range of complementary centres adapted to the evolving needs of the most vulnerable in our society. Therefore, women who are addicted to drugs, often suffering from trauma related to the violence they are victims of, have access to holistic care in a non-mixed, low-threshold centre with a view to sustainably improving their psycho-social situation."

Jointly funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Security and the City of Luxembourg, this centre is expected to illustrate the shared commitment to providing innovative, science-based solutions to combat addictive behaviours and their social impacts. The necessary resources have been allocated to the CNDS, thus guaranteeing the implementation and proper functioning of the MARGA centre.

During the inauguration, Minister Deprez, Mayor Polfer and the CNDS managers discussed the challenges encountered and the first expected results. The Minister concluded: "The MARGA centre illustrates not only our ability to adapt our approaches to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations, but also how our conventional sector manages to set new emphases and constantly evolve to adapt to changing realities, by placing science and innovation at the heart of our actions."