Drug demand reduction policies
Promoting rights-based approaches in prevention, care, harm reduction and community development
Problematic drug use is both a public health and social cohesion challenge. Exclusion and marginalisation intensify its negative effects, deteriorate health and wellbeing, and hinder access to basic rights.
COPOLAD III promotes a comprehensive approach that combines inter-institutional coordination, gender and differential perspectives, as well as attention to mental health and harm reduction.
This translates into the strengthening of technical capacities, the improvement of prevention and care services, and the promotion of community-based mechanisms in vulnerable territories.
The programme also supports actions to improve the quality of care, reduce barriers to access, and mitigate risk factors among particularly exposed groups such as children and adolescents under state care, young people at risk of use or micro-trafficking, persons deprived of liberty, people who inject drugs or use new substances, LGBTQI+ people, women in vulnerable situations, highly excluded communities and migrants.
Results
Comprehensive care, harm reduction and social inclusion services
At national level:
Chile:- Implementation of two innovation laboratories under the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Use (SENDA) in Maule and Araucanía, aimed at improving care for children and young people with problematic substance use.
- Development of mental health and self-care guides for residential centres under the Specialised Child Protection Service (SPE).
- Strengthening inter-institutional coordination mechanisms and promoting strategies for the social and labour inclusion of young people at risk or with problematic substance use.
- Support to the National Council for Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescence (CONAPINA) and the National Anti-Drug Commission to enhance the capacities of teams providing psychosocial care for children and adolescents under state protection.
Colombia:
- Support to the Ministry of Justice and Law and the Ministry of Health in consolidating a national harm reduction model, including a multi-sectoral governance mechanism and three territorial harm-reduction plans in the coffee-growing region (Armenia, Dosquebradas and Pereira) (final phase).
- Implementation of two innovation laboratories focused on the social inclusion of women and young people in vulnerable neighbourhoods of Santander de Quilichao and Cali.
Mexico:
- Support to the National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions (CONASAMA) to strengthen the response to the use of fentanyl and methamphetamine through prevention, community treatment and harm-reduction actions based on international good practices.
- Incorporation of gender and sexual-diversity perspectives in technical guides, toolkits and training processes.
Uruguay:
- Support to the National Drug Board and the Ministry of the Interior in the National Plan for Addressing Problematic Drug Use among Adults under Penal Sanctions, as well as the Guidelines for Addressing Problematic Drug Use in Deprivation of Liberty.
- Implementation of a social innovation laboratory offering peer training for women affected by drugs.
Ecuador:
- Service guide, regional exchange and training of staff from the 171 Helpline in crisis management and psychological first aid related to problematic substance use.
At regional level:
- Adaptation of the European Guide to Health and Social Responses to Drug Problems (2017) to the Latin American and Caribbean context.
- Development of a position paper to guide actions aimed at reducing stigma among women who use drugs.
Improving technical capacities in drug-use prevention
At regional level:
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) has achieved:- Adaptation of 2 manuals from the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) to the context of Latin America (Spanish) and the Caribbean (English). 231 people trained in the basic course (67% women) from 15 Latin American and 11 Caribbean countries, as well as four participants trained as trainers in Brazil (75% women).
- Launch of Evidencia Viva, a Latin American platform for the exchange of empirically based preventive interventions.
Promotion of community-based treatment mechanisms in vulnerable territories
At national level:
Brazil:- Support to the Government of Ceará in the pilot device Centre for Access to Rights and Social Inclusion (CAIS) in Fortaleza. In parallel, support to the National Secretariat on Drugs (SENAD) in the strategy for scaling up the lessons learned from this pilot to national policy.
- Support to the pilot initiative El Alambre Listening and Care Centre, led by the Provincial Municipality of Trujillo and the Multisectoral Committee for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (COMUL).
- Development of the Guide on Women and Gender: Drug Policies from a Community Treatment Perspective.
- Support to the pilot device of a care centre for women and gender-diverse people in Canelones.
- The National Drug Council (CND) has launched the Alas de Fortaleza strategy, aimed at women deprived of liberty for drug-related offences. Update of the Prison System’s Code of Conduct to make exit and permit regimes more flexible, strengthening women’s support networks and reintegration.
Trinidad and Tobago:
- Support to the National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Programme (NACADD) of the Ministry of Health in designing a pilot scheme of art and culture workshops for young people.
At regional level:
- Publication of the Guide of Good Practices and Intervention Models in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union for addressing social vulnerabilities linked to drugs, in collaboration with the Ibero-American Network of NGOs Working on Drugs and Addictions (RIOD).
- 197 representatives of public institutions and civil society from 17 countries trained in the ECO-2 Community Treatment Model. Support for the implementation of pilot community-care mechanisms in vulnerable territories in 12 countries of the region. Development of practical guides with orientations adapted to each country.
Results
Improving technical capacities in drug-use prevention
At regional level:
The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) has achieved:
- Adaptation of 2 manuals from the European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) to the context of Latin America (Spanish) and the Caribbean (English). 231 people trained in the basic course (67% women) from 15 Latin American and 11 Caribbean countries, as well as four participants trained as trainers in Brazil (75% women).
- Launch of Evidencia Viva, a Latin American platform for the exchange of empirically based preventive interventions.
Comprehensive care, harm reduction and social inclusion services
At national level:
Chile:
- Implementation of two innovation laboratories under the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Use (SENDA) in Maule and Araucanía, aimed at improving care for children and young people with problematic substance use.
- Development of mental health and self-care guides for residential centres under the Specialised Child Protection Service (SPE).
- Strengthening inter-institutional coordination mechanisms and promoting strategies for the social and labour inclusion of young people at risk or with problematic substance use.
El Salvador:
- Support to the Ministry of Justice and Law and the Ministry of Health in consolidating a national harm reduction model, including a multi-sectoral governance mechanism and three territorial harm-reduction plans in the coffee-growing region (Armenia, Dosquebradas and Pereira) (final phase).
- Implementation of two innovation laboratories focused on the social inclusion of women and young people in vulnerable neighbourhoods of Santander de Quilichao and Cali.Support to the National Council for Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescence (CONAPINA) and the National Anti-Drug Commission to enhance the capacities of teams providing psychosocial care for children and adolescents under state protection.
Colombia:
- Support to the Ministry of Justice and Law and the Ministry of Health in consolidating a national harm reduction model, including a multi-sectoral governance mechanism and three territorial harm-reduction plans in the coffee-growing region (Armenia, Dosquebradas and Pereira) (final phase).
- Implementation of two innovation laboratories focused on the social inclusion of women and young people in vulnerable neighbourhoods of Santander de Quilichao and Cali.
Mexico:
- Support to the National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions (CONASAMA) to strengthen the response to the use of fentanyl and methamphetamine
through prevention, community treatment and harm-reduction actions based on international good practices. - Incorporation of gender and sexual-diversity perspectives in technical guides, toolkits and training processes.
Uruguay:
- Support to the National Drug Board and the Ministry of the Interior in the National Plan for Addressing Problematic Drug Use among Adults under Penal Sanctions, as well as the Guidelines for Addressing Problematic Drug Use in Deprivation of Liberty.
- Implementation of a social innovation laboratory offering peer training for women affected by drugs.
Ecuador:
- Service guide, regional exchange and training of staff from the 171 Helpline in crisis management and psychological first aid related to problematic substance use.
At regional level:
- Adaptation of the European Guide to Health and Social Responses to Drug Problems (2017) to the Latin American and Caribbean context.
- Development of a position paper to guide actions aimed at reducing stigma among women who use drugs.
Promotion of community-based treatment mechanisms in vulnerable territories
At national level:
Brazil:
- Support to the Government of Ceará in the pilot device Centre for Access to Rights and Social Inclusion (CAIS) in Fortaleza. In parallel, support to the National Secretariat on Drugs (SENAD) in the strategy for scaling up the lessons learned from this pilot to national policy.
Peru:
- Support to the pilot initiative El Alambre Listening and Care Centre, led by the Provincial Municipality of Trujillo and the Multisectoral Committee for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (COMUL).
Uruguay:
- Development of the Guide on Women and Gender: Drug Policies from a Community Treatment Perspective.
- Support to the pilot device of a care centre for women and gender-diverse people in Canelones.
Dominican Republic:
- The National Drug Council (CND) has launched the Alas de Fortaleza strategy, aimed at women deprived of liberty for drug-related offences. Update of the Prison System’s Code of Conduct to make exit and permit regimes more flexible, strengthening women’s support networks and reintegration.
Trinidad and Tobago:
- Support to the National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Programme (NACADD) of the Ministry of Health in designing a pilot scheme of art and culture workshops for young people.
At regional level:
- Publication of the Guide of Good Practices and Intervention Models in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union for addressing social vulnerabilities linked to drugs, in collaboration with the Ibero-American Network of NGOs Working on Drugs and Addictions (RIOD).
- 197 representatives of public institutions and civil society from 17 countries trained in the ECO-2 Community Treatment Model. Support for the implementation of pilot community-care mechanisms in vulnerable territories in 12 countries of the region. Development of practical guides with orientations adapted to each country.
¿Cómo trabajamos?
Esquema regional
Conformación de tres grupos de trabajo con 28 países para generar reflexión a través de seminarios, guías conceptuales y metodológicas e intercambio de experiencias.Articulación con el Observatorio Interamericano de Drogas (OID) de la Comisión Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas (CICAD-OEA).
Aterrizaje multipaís y nacional
Lanzamiento de 22 acciones nacionales de fortalecimiento de OND con metas previstas y rutas de acompañamiento
Communication
Implementing partners
With the support of
