The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) of Jamaica hosted a meeting of Directors of Regional Drug Councils, 28-30 November 2005 at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, under the auspices of the CARICOM Secretariat.
“Partnering for Change: Negotiating new pathways in addressing substance abuse in the Caribbean,” was the theme of the high level meeting which was convened to advance the regional demand reduction agenda as endorsed by the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) VII and most recently reiterated at COHSOD X111, 26-28, October 2005 in Georgetown, Guyana. Thirteen CARICOM Member States and four Associate States were in attendance. These included Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Observers present were Aruba and representatives of the Inter- American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).
Chairman of the meeting was Michael Tucker, Executive Director of the National Council on Drug Abuse of Jamaica (NCDA).
The delegates registered appreciation for the support of the Government of Spain, the CARICOM Secretariat, which was represented, CICAD and the NCDA for their various roles in facilitating the meeting. The Directors engaged in frank exchange about the state of regional support and collaboration in the area of demand reduction and supported the establishment of Technical Advisory Body to drive the process forward.
Several objectives were achieved at the meeting, including the formation of a Technical Advisory Body as reiterated by COHSOD X111, the reviewing and updating of the regional strategic framework of 2002 in light of current and emerging issues and practices in addressing substance abuse, and the Development of a Programme of work for 2006-2008.
The Directors agreed on a number of areas including the structure of the TAB, subject to the regional group of Directors, and identified a core group to pilot assigned areas of work such as treatment and rehabilitation. Agreement was also reached on HIV/AIDS linked to substance abuse; surveillance, research, monitoring and evaluation prevention education; institution strengthening and behaviour change. CARICOM is to steer the regional process related to policy development and advocacy.
Further, the meeting agreed that the TAB should develop concepts with regional applicability for submission to CARICOM for project writing and resource identification; an updated strategic framework in keeping with regional consensus for a coordinated response to the dynamic demand reduction imperatives of the Region; and a programme of work for the period 2006 -2008 including activities, indicators and means of verification.
The meeting recognised CARICOM’s heightened catalytic role in demand reduction which should strengthen the effort to sustain regional cooperation; the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration with such groups as the business sector, the sporting fraternity, philanthropists, parents , community based organisations, media , faith-based groups, schools , the tourism sector and non-governmental organizations; and the value of National Drug Councils that encompass both demand and supply portfolios but noted that this organizational model had not been achieved in the Caribbean.
The Directors expressed the need to ensure the following:
• All countries in the Caribbean basin become involved in discussions and decisions related to demand reduction in the context of ensuring regional cooperation and collaboration. Special reference was made to the Spanish, French and Dutch that are designated as other Caribbean territories;
• Innovative and indigenous prevention programmes be inculcated into the regional demand reduction armamentarium and best practices portfolio;
• Training programmes in drug abuse prevention be offered in tertiary institutions;
• The research culture and behaviour change techniques be integrated into all aspects of the demand reduction programmes in the Caribbean.
During the three-day meeting, participants were exposed to several research papers that focused on best practices in demand reduction related to the following:
• Special populations such as adolescents, women, persons living with HIV/AIDS; Treatment and Rehabilitation
• Prevention and treatment in the Penal System
• Drug Courts
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse
• Harm Reduction
• Violence and Drug trafficking
• Economic and social cost of substance abuse
• Community based interventions
• The Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism(MEM)
Challenges identified included diverse geographical setting, political will, the need to strengthen organisations and build capacity, migration of skills, inadequate treatment and rehabilitation programmes and inconsistent sources of project funding.