On 18 June 2003, the Council adopted a Recommendation on “the prevention and reduction of health-related harm associated with drug dependence”. The aim is to reduce the number of drug-related deaths (DRDs) and drug-related health damage by encouraging Member States to set up and develop responses and strategies to prevent and reduce drug-related harm.
The Recommendation includes three main points for Member States’ action:
to set as a public health objective the prevention of drug dependence and the reduction of related risks and to develop and implement comprehensive strategies accordingly;
to reduce substantially the incidence of drug-related health damage (such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis) and the number of DRDs;
to develop appropriate evaluation to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of drug prevention.
The recommendation calls for a report on the implementation of the recommendation at national level.
Conclusions of the report
The report is based on two main sources: 1. in 2005, the Commission asked the 25 Member States to report on the implementation of the Council Recommendation.
2. The Trimbos Institute, research centre in the field of mental health and addiction, was commissioned to draft a background document to prepare the report.
The report concludes that all Member States have policies and actions that reflect the recommendation which has been considered as a cornerstone to develop national policies. However, the level of implementation is patchy within and between countries.
Almost all Member States have policies to promote the integration between health services (including mental health services and social care) and specialised harm reduction services.
Availability of substitution treatments has also increased, even if this needs to be strengthened.
Although data are considered to be of high quality, a focus on at-risk populations should be improved.
A black gap is pointed out with regard to the situation in prisons where harm reduction interventions are not in accordance with the principles of equivalence between services provided inside or outside prison, adopted by the UNAIDS, or the UN General Assembly.
The report calls on improving monitoring research, assessment mechanisms and ensuring synergies between policies and initiatives with health-related aspects and possible links to drug use (e.g. mental health, alcohol, HIV/AIDS prevention, drug dependence at the workplace, drugs/medicines and driving).
EPHA related articles:
Launch of 2006 annual report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe
EU Action Plan on Drugs (2005-2008)
EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2012)
EPHA responds to a Consultation on NGOs involvement on Drug Policies
