Drug Use Prevention: International Standards and Evaluation Methods

Three days training workshop was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

The workshop was organized within the UNODC Programme for Central Asia and aimed to introduce the participants with UNODC International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, develop knowledge and skills among prevention professionals to design, implement and evaluate evidence based drug prevention programmes for children and youth.  

32 experts from 16 regions of Kazakhstan participated in the workshop representing education, health, law enforcement as well as civil society sectors. Participants were introduced to evidence based prevention intervention and policies, as well as how to monitor and evaluate prevention activities. During the workshop the participants also worked on improvement of country responses to drug prevention targeting the prenatal, infancy, early childhood and middle childhood age groups, early adolescence, adolescence and adulthood age groups.

Workshop participants have identified several areas in national drug prevention system that requires improvement. Specifically issues related to ensuring adequate financial and human resources, provision of training and supportive regulatory framework have been identified as key priorities for the country.