New York, Mar 25 2011 5:10PM
Community and grass-roots initiatives have a crucial role to play in preventing drug use, the United Nations anti-narcotics chief said today.
"Drug control is not all about governments and law enforcement; it is also about families, teachers, youth leaders and mentors," UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Yury Fedotov <"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2011/March/grass-roots-organizations-indispensable-for-creating-healthy-societies-says-executive-director..html">told a meeting of activists in Vienna on the margins of a week-long conference of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
"Prevention starts with a community that cares about the vulnerable. Think globally, act locally," he said, stressing that community-level action must be stepped up.
Mr. Fedotov said he welcomed dialogue with all parties, including those with different opinion. However, he said: "Let us not argue on the key issue – there are people who need treatment."
He praised those who quietly went about their work away from the media spotlight: "You are the unsung heroes of society. Sometimes all a person needs is a chance and a helping hand. Your support and encouragement can make a profound difference to people in despair," he said.
UNODC is developing evidence-based family skills training, drug education to build up life skills and self-esteem to prevent substance use among children and teenagers, and programmes to address substance abuse in the workplace.
"Together, we can work towards effective community problem-solving strategies, teaching them how to assess their local substance abuse-related problems and develop a comprehensive plan to address them," he said. "We need to know what makes some people vulnerable to addiction. So I intend to broaden consultation with all members of society, from policy-makers to home-makers."
Mar 25 2011 5:10PM
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