Advocacy, Policy, Practice, Evidence, Disparate Processes in Search of a Link

1. Advocacy, Policy, Practice, Evidence, Disparate Processes in Search of a Link

2. Defining the terms: • Advocacy • influencing decision making to establish, develop or change policy and to set up or sustain programmes and services • Policy • how societies and their institutions deal with an issue • Practice • what organisations and institutions do routinely in the delivery of programmes and services • Evidence • interventions which have been evaluated and found effective in achieving their stated goals

3. International Policy - Conflicting responses? Drugs Commission on Narcotic Drugs sets international policy. UNODC works on practice. Not always in line with each other HIV/AIDS UNAIDS focussed on preventing disease Health WHO (& Global Fund) focussed on health consequences and costs Human Rights UN Human Rights bodies focus on human rights, including detention and compulsory treatment

4. Advocacy and Evidence • Do we truly advocate on the basis of evidence? • the evidence base is limited • in general it only refers to very specific interventions • evaluations without randomised trials are often discounted • few complex interventions have been evaluated • the evidence base depends on the policy to be pursued • Advocacy is more commonly for the policy or programme we support • Evidence is what we can show is effective to achieve our policy objective

5. Can we advocate for a comprehensive and systematic approach? • The VNGOC example • The goal – to contribute to and influence the CND in its review of achievement and future policy • The method – a questionnaire, regional consultations and a global forum to develop a declaration and resolutions reflecting a shared vision

6. The Outcomes • a shared platform between 900 organisations (including ISAM) who had significantly different policies • inclusion of many recommendations in the final UN Declaration and Action Plan • planning meetings with the Chairperson of CND • increased collaboration between member states and NGOs • annual dialogues between NGOs, the Executive Director of UNODC and the President of INCB • improved collaboration with all UNODC sections

7. The Future • Building coalitions and capacity to advocate for the shared platform • Increased engagement of NGOs and civil society in the development of drug policy and practice • New models to involve and consult all stakeholders at national and international levels • System wide coherence for drug policy and practice nationally and internationally

8. Contribution of ISAM to the “Beyond 2008 Forum” (Vienna, July 7-9, 2008) organized by the VNGOC in partnership with UNODC • A) Participation to the MENA Regional Consultation (Cairo, October 25-26, 2007) • Organizers: VNGOC; Co-organizers: Rotary Giza North Club, ISAM-Egypt Branch, Mentor Arabia • Participants: 19 NGOs representing Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

10. B) Invitation to the “Beyond 2008 Forum” (among 65 international NGOs) • Preamble • Recognizing the adverse health effects of drugs; the harmful drug use including licit drugs; the importance of prevention including that of alcohol and tobacco use; the attention of NGOs for interventions which are culturally, socially, family, gender and age sensitive; the contributions of NGOs to the research and evaluation literature, • Also Underscoring that greater attention should be given to the health and public health aspects of drug policy including co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, and

11. Acknowledging thatthe conventions require that “the Parties shall take all practicable measures for the early identification, treatment, education, after-care, rehabilitation and social integration of the persons involved in abuse of drugs”, • Recalling that the “medical use of narcotic drugs continues to be indispensable for the relief of pain and suffering andthe treatment of addiction, and that adequate provisions must be made to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs for such purposes”, • Underscoring that the majority of regional “Beyond 2008” consultations reported that the controls required for narcotic and psychotropic drugs created an impediment to the availability of essential medications for pain control as well as access to substances known to be effective for the treatment of drug dependence.

12. Resolutions • Call upon NGOs to offer a plurality of services designated to people who use or have used drugs and their families in order to promote treatment , rehabilitation and social re-integration as well as improve their health and social well-being; to include evaluation as a required element for any projects; to encourage reports published, where possible, in an acknowledged journal, • Call upon Member States to ensure that more attention is given to the needs of those in close custody setting so that they can gain access to the comprehensive range of interventions recommended by WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS, • Call upon UNODC to develop in partnership with the WHO and NGOs a global program for the definition of standards and best practices in the delivery of services.

13. C) Invitation to the side event to the 52° Session of CND A Policy Forum on “Good Practice in Cyber Space” Vienna, March 17, 2009

14. Contact Information Web site: www.vngoc.org E-mail: info@vngoc.org Web site: www.isamweb.org E-mail: office@isamweb.com polydrug@units.it