Assessing the level of implementation of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol in the Region of the Americas.

Abstract

[FOREWORD]. Monitoring progress is a key component whenever planning and committing to implement health strategies, as it can help guide needed improvements and identify and respond to gaps in the public health response. Thus, in any given society, it becomes a mechanism for accountability to governments and other stakeholders involved. This report describes the construction of a series of composite indicators developed for evaluating the level of implementation of the ten policy areas of the WHO Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol adopted in 2010 at the World Health Assembly (WHA)—and furthermore adopted in 2011 by all Member States in the Region of the Americas (hereafter referred to as “the Region” or simply “the Americas”) through the Regional plan of action of the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).

[PREFACIO]. El seguimiento del progreso es un componente clave de la planificación y del compromiso de poner en práctica estrategias de salud, ya que puede ayudar a orientar las mejoras necesarias y detectar y responder a las brechas presentes en la respuesta de salud pública, convirtiéndose así en un mecanismo de rendición de cuentas para los gobiernos y otros interesados directos de cualquier sociedad. En el presente informe se describe la elaboración de una serie de indicadores compuestos para evaluar el nivel de ejecución de las diez áreas de política de la Estrategia mundial para reducir el uso nocivo del alcohol de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), adoptada en el 2010 por la Asamblea Mundial de la Salud (AMS), y posteriormente en el 2011 por todos los Estados Miembros de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud, Oficina Regional de la Organización Mundial de la Salud para la Región de las Américas (OPS/OMS) con la aprobación del Plan de acción regional.

The Directory of drug prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and gang and youth violence focused institutions in the English-Speaking Caribbean was compiled from the results of an agency mapping exercise conducted for the CICAD/OAS Training and Certification Program (PROCCER).

The directory involved the data gathering from PROCCER Point Persons of thirteen OAS member states, through a Diagnostic Regional Coordinator. The coordinator was also responsible for ensuring that the various datasets were cleaned, performed any necessary data analysis, and drafted the initial report.

Drug use continues to represent a significant problem in the Americas, and one that challenges policy makers at the highest levels. The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (known by its Spanish language acronym, CICAD), of the Organization of American States (OAS), serves as the preeminent Western Hemisphere forum for policy discussion and hemispheric cooperation on drugs. Along with other responsibilities, the Executive Secretariat of CICAD supports OAS member states by providing an evidence-based picture of the drug problem, both nationally and at the hemispheric level, so that member states can design and implement policies and programs to address the problem.

The Report on Drug Use in the Americas 2019 analyzes current drug use data in the Hemisphere. It features information on the most widely used drugs across the region, organized by drug and by population group, and highlights emerging issues of interest to policy-makers and to the public. The Report draws on data obtained primarily through national surveys using the Inter-American Uniform Drug Use Data System (known by its Spanish language acronym, SIDUC), developed by the CICAD Executive Secretariat.