Morocco and Tunisia share their experience in the management of addictions
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Since December 2012, the Tunisian Society of Psychiatry, with the support of the MedNET network and the Joint South Programme of the Council of Europe and the European Union, organized a series of monthly seminars for addiction mental health professionals. This completely new training was a great success with psychiatrists, psychologists and public health physicians involved in the management of addictions. On 8 March, another step has been taken with the objectives set by MedNET, namely the strengthening of
the South-South cooperation, as the participants in the seminar were able to benefit from the skills and experience of a renowned Moroccan psychiatrist. The Coordinator of these meetings sent us the following message "the seminar was exciting thanks to the trainer who was able to transmit his passion".
More information about the MedNET Network
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MedNET work programme 2013 – Implementation is progressing at a rapid pace
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Following the adoption of the 2013 work programme of the Mediterranean network for co-operation on drugs and addictions (MedNET), the state of progress concerning the implementation of the approved activities is the following:
• In Egypt, the project concerning the “Gender Oriented Care of Substance Dependent Women” which finished its first phase of reviewing the literature and assessment is now preparing a workshop which will be held on 15 May in Cairo.
• In Lebanon, two projects have started: the project on implementing a life skills prevention programme in 10 schools and the project on creating a youth drug counseling center in a high risk area have started.
• In Morocco, the addictology courses are ongoing and within the framework of the Italian project, the first round table on development and implementation of drug policy: a national drug prevention strategy will be held on 20 and 21 March in Rabat.
• In Tunesia, the series of seminars on addictology is ongoing. The second seminar planned in February had to be cancelled due to political events, the third one has just been held with participation of a trainer from Morocco, underlining the interest for a South-South cooperation. The MedSPAD launched in December 2012 in Tunis continues: data have been collected and will be analysed. A study visit for a Tunisia delegation in Cyprus will be held at the end of March and a round table on development and implementation of drug policy is planned on 16 and 17 April in Tunis.
Concerning the regional activities:
• The working group on addictology programmes met on 4 February in Paris and will meet again on 25 June to finalise a document proposing recommendations on training and drug education.
• The 14th MedNET will take place on 27 May in Strasbourg at the eve of the Permanent Correspondents meeting.
More information about the MedNET Network
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Recruitment of 4 new Jury members for the 2014 and 2016 Prize
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The European Drug Prevention Prize is a unique pan-European initiative of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, aiming to promote youth participation in drug prevention. Its objective is to recognise the importance of active youth participation in creating a better and healthier environment for all communities in Europe. In the framework of the preparation of the European Drug Prevention Prize, the Pompidou Group is looking to recruit four new members for the jury. The Jury is composed of 7 young people from Pompidou Group member States. They are identified by the Secretariat of the Pompidou Group based on the proposals of the member States representatives as well as non-governmental organisations that work with young people across Europe and other parts of the world.
To read more about the Prize:
Prevention Prize website
Facebook Page of the Prevention Prize
Procedure
For any comments or questions, please contact thea.sveen@coe.int |
Eastern Europe calls for effective drug treatment in prisons
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More than 100 participants from 15 different countries attended the conference which took place in Bucharest, 27-28 February 2013. Experts, decision-makers and frontline workers expressed the pressing need for immediate and far-reaching actions towards effective drug treatment in prisons. A highlight was the declaration by the Deputy Minister on Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia, Archil Talakvadze, who called for drug policy changes in his country.
In his opinion, Georgia's zero-tolerance approach towards the possession of small quantities of illicit drugs for personal use should be reconsidered, drug treatment improved and the number of persons imprisoned reduced. During the conference, well-known doctors and psychologists stressed the need to tackle substance abuse and HIV infections in European prisons.
The Moldovan model showed that needle and syringe exchange programmes as well as opiate substitution treatment are key ways to help curb addiction and HIV infections also in Eastern European's lower income countries.
A spectacular side-event of the conference was a pantomime play performed by inmates depicting their struggle with drug addiction. After the play the inmates exhibited drug preventions posters which they produced in the framework of the Pompidou Group project ''Drugs in Prison''.
Accompanied by mass-media the participants visited on the second day of the conference the Therapeutic Community in Jilava prison in Bucharest.
Programme of the conference
Podcast of Patrick Penninckx
More information about prisons
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International Conference on “Mental Health and Addiction in Prisons”
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This international conference is organised by the Pompidou Group in co-operation with the National Anti-Drug Agency
of Romania. It will take place at the National Library of Bucharest on 27 February 2013. The conference will focus on the current approaches, regional and European, to improve clinical and psychological drug treatment services in prisons. Participants are invited to share and exchange their knowledge and experiences. A side event will also be organised: an exhibition of drug prevention posters created by detainees living in
therapeutic communities.
Programme of the conference |
Combatting drug trafficking in airports in the Mediterranean Region
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The Regional Mediterranean seminar on combating drug trafficking in airports is organised on 29-30 October in Strasbourg in the framework of the Mediterranean network (MedNET) activities. The seminar will promote an exchange of views on drug trafficking and crime related issues (airport crime and airport security) at airports of the MedNET region and take into account the expertise of the Pompidou Group’s “Airports Group”. Composed of law enforcement officers, including police officers, customs officers and border control-officers, this group aims to develop and harmonise tools and systems to improve drug detection in European airports. On the occasion of this seminar law enforcement officers from Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia will be able to exchange views and experience. The World Customs Organisation (WCO), Interpol and the Analysis and Operation Centre-Narcotics (MAOC-N) will also participate in the discussions. This seminar should be a step not only towards effective cooperation between European and Mediterranean countries in the field of law enforcement, but will also support international activities in the field of drug supply reduction.
Link to the Programme
Link to the MedNET webpage
Link to the Airports Group webpage
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Serbia - Workshop on Treatment and Risk Assessment
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About 50 Serbian prison doctors and educators working in prisons attended the workshop “Improving Treatment Services and Risk Assessment of Drug Users in Prisons”, which took place in Belgrade, Serbia, on 17 and 18 December 2012. The workshop was organised by the Pompidou Group and the Criminal Law Co-operation Unit of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe in co-operation with the Serbian Prison Administration.
Among the topics discussed were: the implementation of harm reduction measures, the professional independence of the medical staff as well as the training needs for psychologists and doctors. The participants concluded that it is necessary to strengthen the interdisciplinary working relations between doctors and psychologist on one side and prison directors and security staff on the other side and also to improve collaboration with community organisations in order to create a network of services for providing effective care. |
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