-states need to set minimum standards
Caricom says that while member states have reported progress in efforts to reduce the demand for illicit drugs there are still concerns that though some countries have set standards others have failed to meet even the minimum standard for care and treatment.
Based on ten country reports presented on Tuesday at the regional training workshop on Standards of Care for Treatment and Rehabi-litation Facilities for Sub-stance Abusers in Jamaica, several countries have varying types of care and treatment methods for drug and alcoholic dependents.
Member states also noted the positive impact of care and treatment in reducing the demand for narcotics and agreed that quality care and treatment was critical in drug demand reduction, the Caricom Secretariat said in a press release.
However, it was also noted that while there is a wide range and reasonably high quality of service in some countries, others were still struggling to set up structured systems and yet others had no formal systems or mechanisms for the provision of quality services.
Participants attributed this to the challenge of mobilizing resources as well as the absence of established models.
They also agreed that it was vital to bring each country to a level of minimum standards of care and treatment for drug and alcohol dependents.
It was also agreed that more public/private sector partnership was necessary to assist with the mobilization of both human, financial and materials resources.
The Secretariat and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) jointly organised the two-day workshop hosted in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
It created a forum for over 40 regional and international stakeholders in drug demand reduction to discuss, identify and establish standards for care and treatment for substance abusers.
The meeting precedes the meeting of European Union and Latin American and Caribbean (EU-LAC) countries, at the same venue, on improving drug treatment services in EU-LAC cities.
