The Demand for Alcohol in South Africa

The sale, dispensing and distribution of liquor was prohibited in the nationwide lockdown on levels 5 and 4 (DMA, 2002; Amendment Regulations 2020:22). The alcohol ban that was imposed during these levels highlighted the erratic behavior where looting of alcohol outlets in South Africa was observed (BusinessTech, April 2020). This behavior that was observed demonstrated that the demand for alcohol in South Africa is an ongoing problem (Peltzer, et al., 2011:36). The national disaster in which the fight against the novel virus COVID-19, became the...

Online regional training for trainers (ToT) on Course 10 “Managing Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs” (30 November – 3 December 2020) of the Advanced Level of the Universal Treatment Curriculum for Substance Use Disorders (UTC training package) launched on 30 November 2020.

The main purpose of the training series is to prepare the team of national trainers who will be able to independently train professionals, working in the field of drug dependence treatment and prevention in their own countries in the future. The training was conducted by Dr. Yuriy Rossinskiy (Kazakhstan) and Dr...

Пандемия, и связанные с ней ограничения, принесли перемены в жизни практически каждого жителя планеты. Однако, немногие задумываются о том, как изменилась жизнь лиц с расстройствами, вызванными употреблением наркотиков, являющихся одними из самых уязвимых и нуждающихся в постоянной помощи. С одной стороны, закрытие границ во время карантина, привело к резкому сокращению доступа к наркотическим веществам; с другой стороны, стала распространенной проблема потери дохода, к тому же, многие виды зависимости сопровождаются различными заболеваниями и слабым иммунитетом, что делает лиц с зависимостью...

The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions associated with it have changed people’s lives in almost all countries. However, very few realize how the lives of people with drug use disorders – who are among the most vulnerable and in need of ongoing care – have changed. On the one hand, the closure of borders during quarantine has led to a dramatic reduction in access to narcotic drugs. On the other hand, loss of income has become a problem for people with many forms of dependence accompanied by various diseases. Exposure to COVID-19 can also lead to complications due to their weak immunity.

The five-day regional online training on the skills of UNODC/WHO assessment experts on quality drug treatment has begun on 12 October 2020. The aim of the training is to strengthen institutional support to ensure the successful implementation of the UNODC/WHO drug treatment services in Central Asia and to promote a scientific approach to the quality of drug treatment and drug care services.

Following the launch of the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Disorders, WHO/UN/UN resolution 59/4 by the Commission on Drugs (which calls for the development and dissemination of...

Background

In 2019, four Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan –  piloted the implementation of UNODC's quality assurance mechanisms/tools for the treatment of drug use disorders.

The event was held within the framework of UNODC's global project GLOJ71: "Treatment of Drug Dependence and Its Health Consequences: Tritnet II" with the financial support of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL).

Following the training of drug use disorder treatment professionals from each country , teams of trained evaluators...