Kyiv (Ukraine), 18 December 2019 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) jointly with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the framework of the UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care, organized an International training on Identification and Management of Substance Use Disorders in Pregnancy.

More than 30 health practitioners, including obstetricians, gynecologists, neonatal care specialists, nurses, as well as specialists in substance use disorders treatment from Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus participated in the three-day workshop, held from 11 to 13...

On 4-8 November 2019 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 24 specialists from the drug treatment centres, narcology clinics and institutions of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated in the Regional Training on introduction of the protocols on treatment for psychostimulants and for co-morbid psychiatric and medical disorders organized by  UNODC global project GLOJ71 “Treating drug dependence and its health consequences: Treatnet” in collaboration with Sub-programme 3 “Prevention, treatment and rehabilitation and HIV prevention” of the UNODC Programme for Central Asia...

The UNODC’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN), the Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PTRS) and UNAIDS jointly organized a TREATNET training on drug use disorder treatment and care from July 30th to August 2nd 2019 in Saly-Mbour, Senegal.

Participants included the Ministry of Health, along with twenty-five health and social work professionals, national defence and security forces’ representatives from the different regions of Senegal.

TREATNET is a UNODC capacity building strategy, aiming to strengthen capacities, knowledge, competencies and skills of service...

From 6 to 12 October 2019, as part of the UNODC - PTRS / GLOK32 activities to guide the introduction of assisted pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence, 10 representatives, policy makers and treatment experts, and 2 psychiatrists from Côte d'Ivoire, convened at a study visit in Morocco to improve knowledge of high-level experts in addiction and policy measures for treating opioid dependence. The visit was essential to guide treatment and care services in Côte d'Ivoire with specific focus on patients with opioid addiction.

The study visit began with a meeting with the Ministry of...

Harmful use of alcohol kills more than 3 million people each year. 35 million people are estimated to be suffering from drug use disorders. Tobacco contributes to the death of more than 8 million people a year around the world.

It is important that people who have substance use problems receive interventions that are of high quality, ethical and have strong evidence-base.

Motivational interviewing (MI) can be used as a psychological treatment that aims to help people cut down or stop using substances.

Typically, a counsellor who is trained in MI works with a client to support them making...