At the end of June ISSUP attended two important meetings in London, that shared space and knowledge!
First was the Executive Committee meeting, which brought together 4 of ISSUP’s trustees plus a US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement (INL)’s representative to update on ISSUP’s progress and plans for the future. Particular focus was given to the exciting development of the National Chapters which has been ongoing this year, culminating in the recent launches of ISSUP India, South Africa, Pakistan, Chile and Brazil. Other National Chapters are in the pipeline and will launch soon. We also discussed the forthcoming event taking place in Nairobi as a collaboration between ISSUP, INL, the African Union and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA). The event will combine important meetings, forums, networking, trainings and an extensive conference, bringing the key members of the drug demand reduction community together for a week.
The Prevention Committee meeting focussed upon the how key agencies can come together to support and educate the workforce on the prevention of substance use disorders. In attendance were the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement (INL), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Colombo Plan, the Organization of American States (OAS-CICAD), Applied Prevention Science, the International Consortium of Universities on Drug Demand Reduction and ISSUP.
Both were extremely productive meetings with a great deal of positive discussion and energy. We are already working on outputs from the meetings and look forward to joining both again soon.