Press Release
UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries Technical Planning Meeting on Youth Drug Use Survey Kazakhstan
17 - 18 May 2016, Almaty, Kazakhstan
UNODC's Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring held a technical planning meeting with key government and international development partners on a Youth Drug Survey for Kazakhstan on 17 - 18 May in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The meeting is part of a major undertaking by Sub-Programme 4 and the Survey and Statistics Section of UNODC HQ in Vienna to support surveys of drug use by youths in Member States in West and Central Asia and comes on the back of similar planning meetings with Afghan and Tajik counterparts to inform surveys in both of those countries.
The meeting in Astana was attended by senior officials from the Republican Scientific Centre of Psychology, Psychotherapy and Drug Dependence under the Ministry of Health and Social Development, the Republican Scientific Centre of Medico-Social Problems of Drug Use, Ministry of Interior, Centre of Medico-Social Rehabilitation, UNICEF and WHO.
There was universal support for a full, in-school survey of youth in Kazakhstan. Discussions at the technical meeting focused on the methodology, draft questionnaire, and project timeline. Next steps will involve detailed delivery planning and formal Government sign-off of the questionnaire.
In-school data collection is currently scheduled to take place in October, as is scheduled in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Further planning meetings are scheduled for Pakistan, Iran and Kyrgyz Republic.
We are thankful to the European Union, Denmark and Italy for their continued support to the Youth Drug Use Survey Project of the Regional Programme.
For further details of Regional Programme's work, please visit www.unodc.org/rpanc/ or contact rpwca@unodc.org