On 28-30 January, 2025 group of experts on prevention of drug use from Poland visited Kazakhstan to meet national partners from Central Asia and discuss the latest findings in drug prevention and present educational programmes that have proven to be effective in prevention of drug use among youth. Experts mission, made possible within EU-funded Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP), will consist from series of lectures and working groups meetings in which the educational packages will be discussed and commented.
The event gathered delegations from 5 Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, from Ministries of Health, Education and Science, Internal Affairs and international organisations and provided a space for experts to share their researches and views on the most urgent and crucial issues related to the science of drug use prevention with special focus at schools and educational institutions.
Experts look into possibilities of applying evidence-based prevention and treatment methods in a practical way when developing effective educational programmes. Divided into mixed working groups, professionals discussed current situation in terms of prevention, existing problems, gaps, challenges and specific needs the educational curricula to be based on.
As a result of this initiative following educational packages are expected to be developed and introduced in Central Asian countries, taking into account regional context and local specificities – Curriculum on drug prevention for post-graduated training (i), Educational package for intervention focused on stigma reduction (ii), Guidelines for selective prevention program addressed to women and vulnerable groups (iii).
