Pillar V: Prevention of Drug Use, Treatment and Care of Drug Use Disorders and HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care

The objective of this pillar is to promote and support the adoption and implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based, gender and youth responsive national and regional responses addressing drug use and HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Expected Outcomes Pillar V: Prevention of Drug Use, Treatment and Care of Drug Use Disorders and HIV and AIDS Prevention and Care

5.1.

Member States have increased access to state-of-the-art information to guide national planning, programming and implementation activities in the fields of drug use prevention, drug dependence, treatment and rehabilitation, access to controlled narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances for medical and scientific purposes, and comprehensive HIV harm reduction services.

5.2.

Member States implement and scale-up evidence-based drug prevention

5.3.

Member States implement and scale-up evidence and science-based drug dependence treatment programmes

5.4.

Member States implement and scale-up evidence-based youth and gender-responsive HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes among people who use drugs and among people in prison settings

The scope of work of work this pillar addresses four strategic areas contributing to UNODC's health mandate:

STRATEGIC INFORMATION

In a first instance, UNODC support Member States with the generation of strategic information enabling them to count of on state-of-the-art information to guide national planning, programming and implementation activities in the fields of drug use prevention, drug dependence, drug use disorder treatment and rehabilitation, access to controlled narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances for medical and scientific purposes, and comprehensive HIV harm reduction services.  In doing so, it also ensure adequate desegregation of data based on gender and age to stimulate gender and age responsive programming.

DRUG USE PREVENTION

Recognising that drug use prevention programmes are effective when they respond to the need of the community, involve all relevant sectors and are based on evidence, the second area of work of the regional office's health and social development pillar focuses on drug use prevention in two settings where children and young people can benefit most, in line with the UNODC International Drug Use Prevention Standards.  The primary objective of these programmes is to help to avoid or delay initiation into the use of drugs, or, if they have started already, to avoid developing disorders. Effective drug prevention is expected to contribute significantly to the positive engagement of children, young people and adults with their families, schools, workplace and community.

Family: Evidence-based family skills training programmes have been found to be the most effective way to prevent substance use among children and adolescents after nurse home-visitation Programmes. Such Programmes, implemented under the pillar project, will target the whole family and offer skills-building for parents on key parenting skills such as monitoring and supervision of children's activities, communication and setting age appropriate limits.

School: Evidence-based drug education based on life skills that offer personal, social, resistance and communication skills, normative education about how many of the peers in the adolescent age group actually have tried alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, as well as information about the short-term effects of drugs through a series of sessions offered by trained teachers who use interactive techniques to engage young people, are very effective.  Also, it is important that schools have a written policy on alcohol, tobacco and substance use that covers all students and staff working in schools.

The proposed technical assistance proposed to countries is far reaching in terms of the impact on the life of young people, beyond deterring drug use.  The risk and protective factors that make people vulnerable to drug use are largely the same as those that make people vulnerable to other risky behaviours. Therefore, evidence-based prevention Programmes are known to not only prevents drug use, but also other risk behaviours, violence and crime especially, but also risky sexual behaviour and truancy.

DRUG TREATMENT

Understanding that drug dependence treatment programmes continue to be scarce in the region, UNODC puts the emphasis on technical assistance that supports Member States to enhance access and scale up such Programmes.  UNODC supports Member States in a wide ranging menu of services to ensure such scale-up.  It supports countries to identify capacity gaps and provide capacity building opportunities, develops national and regional networks of treatment experts, translate and adapts international instruments to national contexts.  While UNODC implements activities and pilot-projects , it also supports countries to UNODC also support countries with the development of  plans, protocols, frameworks and tools to implement evidence and human rights- based drug dependence treatment and care, establishment of  of coordinating bodies to ensure  comprehensive and integrated drug dependence treatment and care services  and  foster linkages country-wide.

HIV/AIDS

UNODC is a co-sponsor of the  Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and  is the convening agency for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support among people who use drugs and ensures access to comprehensive HIV services for people in prisons.

The  regional HIV/AIDS programme supports countries to achieve universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services for people who use drugs and for people in prisons. The office supports governments and civil society organizations to implement large-scale and wide-ranging evidence-informed and human rights-based interventions.   Member States receive technical assistance to implement scale-up evidence-based youth and gender-responsive HIV prevention, treatment and care programmes among people who use drugs and among people in prison settings.  Namely, it supports the development of national AIDS strategies, plans, guidelines for the provision of comprehensive HIV services and supports the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of comprehensive HIV programmes and works with them to enhance access, quality and coverage of comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment and care services for people who use and/or inject drugs and those living and working in prison settings.

Our HIV/AIDS work is aligned to the  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular SDG target 3.3 to end AIDS by 2030 and the  UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy 2016-2021 that calls for a 75 per cent reduction of new HIV infections including among people who inject drugs by 2020.   

Also, in the context of UNODC's mandate to support Member States in their efforts to address the availability of internationally controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes, sustained advocacy and technical support will be provided to ensure national policies are in place and ensure greater understanding of the importance of significantly reducing barriers and increasing access accordingly.