23 March 2023
On 15 March 2023, the UNODC Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, with support from Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, the United States, the World Health Organization, the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs, the New York NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs and the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association held a side event during the 66th Commission on Narcotic drugs (CND) on establishing quality assurance mechanisms for the effective and efficient treatment and recovery support of individuals with drug use disorders in community settings.
The event featured eight high-level experts who shared valuable insights and knowledge through informative presentations on effective quality treatment services and systems for people with drug use disorders. The Chief of the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, Giovanna Campello, opened the event, and Anja Busse, Programme Officer of the same section, moderated the event.
The panel showcased good practices and discussed challenges, along with potential solutions, to promote quality assurance for drug use disorder treatment systems and services worldwide, in support of public health and safety. The event was also an opportunity to present this year's CND Conference Room Paper "The Relationship between quality of specialist treatment for substance use disorders and patient outcomes: A scoping review of the literature", which was of great importance in providing a framework for establishing quality assurance towards effective treatment for drug use disorders.
The event was held in a hybrid form and was attended by 117 people and successfully promoted worldwide initiatives that enhance public health and safety. It was a significant milestone in advocating for evidence-based, effective and efficient treatment and recovery support for individuals with drug use disorders in community settings. The event emphasized the importance of creating a culture of ongoing improvement in treatment services to ensure a sustainable and ethical healthcare delivery system. As Andrew Kolodny, Medical Director, Opioid Policy Research Collaborative Institute for Behavioral Health, Brandeis University (Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs and New York NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs) stated: “Good quality [treatment] programmes are patient centred. They don’t attempt to treat all drug problems in all populations with the same modalities.”, again emphasizing the need for ensuring that people with drug use disorders receive appropriate treatment services of high quality.
For further reading, please see the following:
Quality assurance in treatment for drug use disorders: key quality standards for service appraisal