Bangkok (Thailand), 18 July 2016 - The countries of the Mekong MOU on Drug Control gathered in Bangkok from 13-14 July to discuss evidence-based strategies on drug use prevention. The workshop - the first of its kind - comes on the back of the commitment made by the six countries earlier this year to align drug prevention strategies in the region with the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention.
The Workshop participants - from Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam - identified understanding current policies and gaps in the region as the first step towards determining how evidence-based interventions can be integrated into national practices.
"Adoption of evidence-based policies involves the use of systematic decision-making processes or provision of services which have been shown, through available scientific evidence, to consistently improve measurable client outcomes", said Ms. Karen Peters, UNODC Drugs and Health Officer. "Such policies therefore should rely on data collected through experimental research and accounts of individual client and clinician experiences."
"There have already been some examples of successful evidence-based initiatives drug use prevention in the region", said Dr. Methinin Pinyuchon, Project Director of Thailand's Strengthening Families Programme. "For example, our programme has been successfully providing parents and their children with skills related to parenting and children's socialisation since 2006."
Prof. Francis Grace Duka-Pante, Director of the ASEAN Training Centre for Preventative Drug Education, also emphasised the importance of enabling children to develop life skills, and protecting the well-being of children and youth through vigorous and unified preventive drug education programmes.
The Workshop signals alignment with the recommendations of the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) held earlier this year, and its outcome document, which stated that prevention strategies should be based on scientific evidence to target relevant age and risk groups. Also highlighted was the importance of evidence-based prevention strategies towards reducing drug use initiations and expenditures.
"UNGASS identified the global International Standards as the repository of effective evidence-based interventions", said Mr. Tun Nay Soe, UNODC Programme Coordinator. "It is our hope that for our region, the Mekong MOU can be the vehicle through which we can assist policy makers in the region to develop programmes, policies and systems that align with the International Standards and are a truly effective investment in the future of children, youth, families and communities."
Click here to read more about the Mekong MOU's Thematic area 3 (Drug Demand Reduction), which seeks to reverse the trend of increased drug use, and the burden to public health and the social welfare of citizens and communities.
