Director General/Executive Director
13 March 2014
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to thank you for this extremely useful and informative briefing.
I had the chance to attend the openings of the Scientific Consultation and the Civil Society Hearing earlier this week.
These events were opportunities for NGOs and the academic community to offer their substantive input to addressing the world drug problem.
At both meetings I was impressed by the participation and the level of expertise and experience with issues of drugs and health. This breadth and depth of knowledge can also be seen in their reports.
One of our major tasks is to bridge the gap between science and practice, making sure that reliable scientific findings can be implemented with quality and fidelity, and properly evaluated.
Civil society organizations work directly with people on the ground, and thus play a key role in helping to make their needs heard and met, and in advocating and implementing best practices at the local level.
This is why it is so important that scientists, policy-makers and practitioners work together, learn from each other and have a chance to share opinions and experiences.
During the past decades we have gathered an enormous amount of scientific data on the application of a variety of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation strategies.
We can say with confidence that a health-centered approach can be very effective.
The science has shown that evidence-based prevention, treatment and rehabilitation approaches, which are fully in line with human rights standards and the international drug conventions, work.
We know that individuals can indeed achieve sustainable recovery as a result of health-centered interventions. We have also learned that evidence-driven HIV prevention and treatment approaches, also known as harm reduction strategies, are effective and cost-efficient.
Dealing with problems of drug use and dependence in a balanced and humane way represents an investment in the future, in our societies, and in young people and their potential.
I am confident that this meeting has been of great value for the delegates to the High-Level Review, and I hope it will contribute to the further development of effective and meaningful policies to address issues of drugs and health.
Thank you.