THE UN CHOSEN PEREIRA TO TRAIN THOSE WHO ARE IN CHARGE OF THE SUBJECT.
In the city of Pereira from March 21 to today 24, the “Training for policy makers and decision makers on the nature, prevention and treatment of psychoactive substance use disorders” is being carried out, this training organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – UNODC proposes three objectives, the first is to improve knowledge, understanding and intersectoral reach for the prevention of the consumption of psychoactive substances, the second is to improve the quality of life of people at risk due to the consumption of psychoactive substances and the third, to advance in the appropriation and route of implementation of the international guidelines and developments that are available at the national and local level.
This training was designed for those responsible for policy formulation, with key responsibility in decision-making in the departments of health, police, anti-narcotics, education and relevant social sectors, among the attendees was the presence of Luz Adriana Rivera González , coordinator of the SPA consumption reduction team of the Government of Risaralda, Eliana Carmona, director of culture of the department, Gustavo Rivera, secretary of sports of Pereira, Beatriz Elena Villegas, director of the mental hospital of Risaralda, Karen Zape, secretary of government from Pereira, Ruby Alba Aladino, member of the quality team of the municipal education department of Pereira, among other representatives of the sectors summoned.
It is estimated that, in the year 2030, 299 million people had consumed some substance and 36.3 million (13%) will suffer from some dependency (0.7% of the global prevalence).
EXPERTS ON THE SUBJECT
Begoña Gómez del Campo, UNODC international consultant, and Lorena Godoy Carrillo, UNODC advisor to the Andean Region and Southern Cone, are the guides for this training, which addresses issues such as vulnerability to the initiation of drug use, political prevention interventions based on the evidence, pharmacological and psychosocial treatment, prevention of the health and social consequences of drug use and disorders associated with use, human rights and the dignity of individuals, among other topics.
María Mercedes Dueñas, regional coordinator for the prevention and treatment of drug use, UNODC Andean Region and Southern Cone, shared with the attendees an overview of international standards for the prevention of the use of psychoactive substances. Preventive strategies encompass a variety of programs and policies. to improve public health by identifying risk factors and protective factors in psychoactive substance use, helping children and youth achieve their age-related developmental goals, evaluating the effectiveness of prevention interventions, and adapting programs , evidence-based policies and practices within local contexts.
In yesterday’s session, they discussed the challenges in the treatment of disorders due to substance use and mental health; special emphasis to involve people in treatment, the frequent use of various psychoactive substances, the consideration of suicidal ideation and a higher level of medical comorbidities such as sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and hepatitis C, are some of the challenges to face and that in our territory require special attention due to the situation that is evident to the naked eye.
THE AMOUNT
1 in 8 people who inject substances live with HIV
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS
The mental health situation in relation to the different types of disorders that people may suffer are aggravated by the consumption of psychoactive substances, generating more problematic symptoms, however, the treatment leads to a lower consumption of substances and the probability of arrests.
Among the most common personality disorders are Borderline PD, Antisocial PD, and Paranoid PD, the first type refers to mental illness that severely affects a person’s ability to control their emotions, the second type refers to mental illness due to which a person has a prolonged pattern of manipulation, exploitation or violation of the rights of others without any remorse and the third type refers to a person who has a pattern of distrust and suspicion of others in a prolonged manner.
On the other hand, post-traumatic stress disorder refers to a delayed and prolonged response to a stressful event or situation of a threatening or catastrophic nature, in which the person experiences episodes in which they repeatedly relived the trauma, this disorder is associated with the anxiety and depression.
Effective treatment requires specialized personnel to treat substance use disorders, like other mental health disorders, it is identified that patients usually respond better to individual therapy than group therapy, pharmacotherapy by qualified medical professionals is generally required as well how more support should be provided in health care, social protection and recovery.
For today, a group discussion of needs, priorities and available resources will be worked on, followed by recommendations for improvement of the departmental drug plan and finally the closure will take place at 1:00 pm with the final reflections.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, 550,000 people inject substances, of which 51,000 live with HIV and 94,000 with hepatitis C.
REACTIONS
RUBY DAWN ALADDINMEMBER OF THE QUALITY TEAM OF THE PEREIRA MUNICIPAL EDUCATION SECRETARIAT.
“Pereira was selected for two important aspects, one is the installed capacity that we have and two is the technical team that we have, even if we do not have a budget, we have worked to improve the quality of life of our young men and women and above all in a the most vulnerable population in the world because they are in a state of mental defenselessness”
LUZ ADRIANA RIVERA GONZALEZ, COORDINATOR OF THE SPA CONSUMPTION REDUCTION TEAM OF THE GOVERNMENT OF RISARALDA.
“This is one of the components that is being worked on within the framework of the DOMES project, which has been achieved through a demonstration process that was selecting the municipality of Pereira and Dosquebradas to carry out work on prevention, treatment, risk reduction or Recovery and Alternative to Incarceration”
During 2019 there were 494,000 deaths related to problematic substance use.