What: During the celebration of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) will convene the conference “Drug Consumption Policies based on Evidence: advances, challenges, and perspectives.” The Joint PAHO/CICAD-OAS Regional Cooperation Program, part of the agreement recently signed this year by PAHO/WHO and CICAD-OAS on cooperation for the reduction of drug demand in the Americas, will also be presented. A panel of experts will discuss whether solid evidence can be obtained on drug consumption to support the development of substance use policies with a public health approach.

When:  Tuesday, 26 June 2012, 9.30 a.m.–12 p.m.

Where:  Pan American Health Organization (Headquarters), Room B
525 Twenty-third Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037

Who:

Opening

• Jon Andrus, Deputy Director, PAHO/WHO
• Álvaro Briones, Director of Policies and Programs Unit, Secretary for Multidimensional Security of the OAS.

PAHO-CICAD Joint Regional Cooperation Program for the Reduction of Drug Demand

• Luis Alfonzo, Regional Adviser on Substance Use, PAHO/WHO
• Alexandra Hill, Chief, Demand Reduction, CICAD-OAS

Keynote Speech—Drug Consumption Policies based on Evidence: advances, challenges, and perspectives

• Peter Reuter, University of Maryland

Panel: Can solid evidence on drug consumption be obtained?

• Francisco Cumsille, Director, Inter-American Observatory on Drugs,

CICAD-OAS

• Fátima Marinho de Souza, Senior Adviser on Health Information and Analysis, PAHO/WHO
• Oscar Mujica, Regional Adviser on Social Epidemiology, PAHO/WHO

How: In person or via the Internet at the following links:
(please copy and paste on another browser if you have problems with the direct links)

• Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/paho
• Elluminate in English:
  www.paho.org/Virtual/SDE/MentalHealth&ConsumerProtection
• Elluminate in Spanish:
  www.paho.org/Virtual/SDE/SaludMental&ProteccionAlConsumidor

Context: On 9 May 2012, PAHO and the OAS signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate for the reduction of drug demand in the Americas by strengthening coordinated technical cooperation centered on human rights, public health, and scientific evidence. According to the memorandum, PAHO and the OAS will establish a Joint Regional Cooperation Program for the Reduction of Drug Demand to undertake institution building, training, and technical assistance activities with the countries of the Hemisphere. In 2010, the 50th Directing Council of PAHO approved a regional public health strategy to respond to the health problems associated with the consumption of psychoactive substances in the Americas and the following year approved a plan of action to make the use of these substances a priority public health issue in national plans.


Links:

• PAHO and OAS agree to cooperate to reduce the demand for drugs in the Americas
• PAHO: Plan of Action on Psychoactive Substance Use and Public Health
• PAHO: Strategy on Substance Use and Public Health
• PAHO Program on Alcohol and Substance Abuse
• CICAD/OAS
• 110 Anniversary of PAHO
• http://www.paho.org
• http://www.facebook.com/PAHOWHO
• http://www.youtube.com/pahopin
• http://twitter.com/pahoeoc
• http://twitter.com/pahowho

Contacts:
Donna Eberwine-Villagran, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Phone. +1 202 974 3122, Mobile +1 202 316 5469, Sonia Mey-Schmidt, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Phone. + 1 202 974 3036, Mobile +1 202 251 2646, Knowledge Management and Communication, PAHO/WHO—www.paho.org