Program for International Quality Assurance in Treatment (PIQAT)

Authors

1.Mr. Mariano Montenegro (⚑ Chile) 1

2.Mrs. Anja Busse (⚑ Austria) 2

3.Ms. Rita Notarandrea (⚑ Canada) 3

4.Mr. Michael W. Johnson (⚑ United States) 4

5.Mx. Rodrigo Portilla (⚑ Chile) 1

6.Mrs. Cristina Nuñez (⚑ Ecuador) 5

7.Mrs. Jissel Maitin (⚑ Panama) 6

1. Colombo Plan Chile Office, 2. UNODC, 3. Colombo Plan Consultant, 4. Senior Managing Director, Behavioral Health, CARF, 5. National Drug Commissioner - Secretariat of the Interinstitutional Drug Committee MINSAL, 6. CONAPRED

Abstract

The International Program for Quality Assurance in Treatment (PIQAT) is a collaborative initiative that brings together three international organizations: The Colombo Plan, UNODC and OAS-CICAD. Its primary goal is to improve the quality and capacity of treatment systems and services for people with substance use disorders. This is achieved through the standardization of resources and technical collaboration processes between these international agencies.

To achieve its objectives, PIQAT has outlined a series of steps designed to guide the initiation of technical assistance with countries based on the level of development of their treatment care systems and services. These steps cover various aspects such as raising awareness, providing training, facilitating implementation, monitoring progress and conducting evaluations of the processes involved.

PIQAT aims to support countries in the following ways:

• Achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.5 and improve the capacity and quality of responses to drug and alcohol use.

• Enable countries to apply the key international guidelines "International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders" (WHO/UNODC 2020)